Photo © Christian Petersen/Getty Images
On Monday, Miami Heat Point Guard Goran Dragic suffered an unfortunate fate during the third quarter of his team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. Hawks forward Al Horford elbowed Dragic in the face and knocked one of his front teeth out. Dragic clearly did not emerge the winner in this situation, not only because of his injury, but because he was actually called for a foul.
Dragic, 29, had previously signed a five-year, $85-million contract as a free agent. He was expected to play a crucial role in the club’s revival following LeBron James’ departure.
As a player for the Heat, Dragic has displayed his worst per-game scoring and shooting numbers since becoming a full-time NBA starter four years ago, as well as a higher number of turnovers as a percentage of possessions since his first season as a rookie.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra stated: “He has a great toughness and grit to him, this team is just learning about. Instead of a game ball, we had a game tooth.”
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That last statement was quite literal, as a Heat trainer collected the fragment of Dragic’s busted tooth at the end of the game and gave it to him in a small pill bottle.
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