Heat updates Goran Dragic’s status. And the most exasperating thing Miami keeps doing

Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic, who has missed the past three games of these NBA Finals with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, is doubtful to play in Game 5 on Friday, coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday.

The Los Angeles Lakers lead the best-of-seven matchup, 3 to 1, and can close out the series at 9 p.m. Friday.

Dragic warmed up before Game 4 on Tuesday, hoping to play despite considerable discomfort from the injury, which had bothered him for a few weeks but became much worse in Game 1 of the Finals when he fully tore the plantar fascia.

Pregame video showed Dragic had trouble moving laterally when trying to defend Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn. Dragic then walked slowly to the bench after coming to the realization it would not be possible to play in Game 4.

“I’m dealing with a lot of pain, so that’s the main concern,” Dragic said Monday. “I don’t want to be a liability there on the floor for my team.”

On Thursday, Dragic “went through the film session, and that was the bulk of what we did,” Spoelstra said.

Bam Adebayo, who returned from a strained neck to play in Game 4 after missing two games, will be “just fine [Friday],” Spoelstra said.

Adebayo said he was hesitant and wasn’t 100 percent in Game 4. “I don’t want to get bumped in the shoulder; I was definitely hesitant,” he said Thursday. “And then Jae Crowder came up to me after I got the first layup, he’s like, ‘Take your mind off of it; it’s over. You’re out there now.’ Just locking into that, you forget about it. So I forgot about it.”

THREE-POINT FOULING

The most exasperating aspect of this Heat playoff run?

The Heat’s penchant for continuing to foul opposing three-point shooters.

According to cleaningtheglass.com, Miami has committed an NBA-high 16 fouls on three-point attempts in the playoffs. By comparison, the Lakers have committed 10 fouls against three-point shooters.

During the regular season, the Heat committed 39 fouls on three-point attempts in 73 games, tied with Brooklyn for second-most in the NBA behind Philadelphia, which had 41. Last season, Miami committed only 33 fouls on three-point attempts in 82 games.

How much has the Heat discussed this problem in recent weeks?

“We’ve talked about it,” Duncan Robinson said Thursday. “A big emphasis for us is trust. You have to trust you’re in the right spots and doing the right things.

“Sometimes you have to live with a contest. If they make them, they make them. We can’t be bailing guys out on three-point attempts. That’s something we’ve addressed and hopefully we can clean up.”

What can be done about it? For starters, not jumping into a three-point shooter when he’s launching a shot.

“There are some technical adjustments you can make we’ve talked about,” Robinson said. “It’s attention to detail. We’ll be better moving forward.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Robinson has increased his scoring in each of the Finals games, going from 0 points in the opener to 9 to 13 to 17 in Game 4.

But he’s shooting just 8 for 26 on three-pointers in the Finals (30.7 percent), well below his 44.6 regular season percentage and 38.2 playoff percentage.

“I’m just trying to stay attached to him, make him uncomfortable when I’m chasing him off the screens,” Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. “You give him an inch or two, he’s raising up and he’s knocking them down. Even when he dribbled the ball, just try to pressure him, give him something that he’s not really used to.”

Throughout the season, Robinson has often set the tone by knocking down threes early in games. He shot a remarkable 53.3 percent on first-quarter three-point attempts during the regular season and 51.3 percent in the playoffs. But in the Finals, he’s shooting 11.1 percent on first-quarter threes.

▪ Jae Crowder, an impending unrestricted free agent, said he would like to stay with the Heat.

“Hopefully we can work something out,” he said. “It’s enjoyable because we’re winning. Last two teams standing. It’s been a great, great organization to be a part of.”

With the Heat hoping to preserve 2021 cap space for a max free agent, Miami likely will extend a one-year offer to Crowder that could include a team option for 2021-22.

▪ Guard Tyler Herro said he has been speaking daily with Kentucky coach John Calipari.

Calipari has been “telling me we’re right there, we can play with these guys,” Herro said. “They’ve made a few more plays than us down the stretch. But other than that, we’re right there, step for step with them. This series isn’t over is the advice he gave me.”

▪ Per Statmuse, Jimmy Butler and Michael Jordan are the only players to average at least 25 points and at least 10 assists in the first four NBA Finals games of their career. Butler is averaging 27.5 points and 10.0 assists in these Finals.

▪ Charles Barkley, on NBA TV: “We knew the Lakers were going to win this series. Anybody who had any common sense about basketball knew it unless Jimmy Butler went crazy again and he didn’t go crazy again. So now we got to work one more day Friday and the Lakers are going to win another championship.”

Or, as ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins put it: “The Heat are a dead bird in tall grass. It’s over.”

▪ Heat president Pat Riley finishes third in executive of the year balloting, behind the winner, Lawrence Frank of the Clippers, and Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti. Riley received four first-place votes. Team basketball executives voted on the award and were told to consider games only until March 11, when the season was temporarily suspended.

▪ Crowder and Robinson are the fourth pair of teammates to each make 50 3-pointers in a single postseason. They join Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (four times each); Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry; and JR Smith and Kyrie Irving.

▪ Betonline.com has the Heat with 14 to 1 odds to win next year’s NBA title, behind the Lakers (4/1), Clippers (5/1), Golden State and Milwaukee (each 9/1) and Boston and Brooklyn (each 12/1).