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    Pat Riley puts 'asterisk' on NBA Finals result as Dragic, Adebayo not fully fit

    Heat boss, though, insists he's not taking anything away from the Lakers' efforts
    Oct 27, 2020
    PHOTO: AP

    COULD the Miami Heat have at least dragged the Los Angeles Lakers to the distance in the NBA Finals had Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were completely healthy?

    That’s what Heat president Pat Riley is wondering as he put an “asterisk” on the result of the title series that saw the Lakers closing it out in six games and ending a decade-long championship drought.

    "They were the best team, but there's always going to be asterisk, that caveat,” Riley said in an interview with the Miami Herald. “If we had Bam and Goran—Goran was our leading scorer in the playoffs—at 100 percent, it could have gone to seven games or whatever, but thank you for reminding me. I appreciate that, but I'm not going to look back on it.”

    “I'm just going to look at all the positive things, get Goran healthy and Bam healthy, and bring everybody back and try to add to the mix,” he added.

    After the comments raised not a few eyebrows, the Heat boss was quick to make a clarification the next day, insisting he’s not taking anything away from the Lakers’ efforts.

    "The asterisk is next to the Heat's name, not the Lakers," Riley said, per David Wilson of the Miami Herald. "Their title is legitimate. Our loss has an asterisk [next] to it. The Lakers were the better team. Period."

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    PHOTO: AP
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