Heat's Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic out for Game 3 vs. Lakers with Injuries

The Miami Heat announced that star center Bam Adebayo (neck) and starting point guard Goran Dragic (foot) will miss Sunday night's Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

It's a huge blow for a Heat team trailing 2-0 in the series. Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, both players "hoped they could return for Game 3 vs. Lakers tonight, but the pain and physical limitations on both injuries has them out again."

"I can see the anguish in their eyes. Both of them," head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters before Game 3. "But they're making progress."

"They really want to be there because they love their teammates and they put their heart and soul into it," he added. 

Both Adebayo and Dragic left Game 1's 116-98 loss injured and missed Game 2's similarly lopsided 124-114 defeat.

And both have been superb in the postseason, making their losses difficult to overcome. Dragic is second on the team in scoring these playoffs (19.9 PPG) and tied for second in assists (4.6), while Adebayo has averaged 17.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. 

Adebayo arguably stole two games against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, saving Game 1 with a monster block on a Jayson Tatum dunk attempt before going off for 32 points and 14 rebounds in the decisive Game 6 that sent the Heat to the NBA Finals. 

Dealing with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers' overall size and physicality has proven futile for the Heat without Adebayo, however. And losing Dragic's penetration and playmaking has hurt an offense that blitzed the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Celtics en route to the Finals.

The Heat were underdogs before he and Dragic were sidelined—without them in action, a Lakers title feels like a foregone conclusion.