Dario Saric of the Suns tears ACL in game 1 of the NBA Finals

According to ESPN on Wednesday, Phoenix Suns power forward Dario Saric of Sibenik, Croatia tore his anterior cruciate ligament in game one of the NBA Finals on Tuesday and is gone for the rest of  the series. Saric suffered the injury in the Suns’ 118-105 win in Phoenix over the Milwaukee Bucks when he dove awkwardly on to Bucks center Brook Lopez. His right knee then buckled, and the injury occurred.

So far in the NBA playoffs, Saric was averaging 4.5 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game and one assist per game in a reserve role. He had a field goal percentage of .467, three-point percentage of .444, and a free throw percentage of .929.

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Saric’s best game in the 2021 NBA playoffs came in game two of the Western Conference Finals on June 22 in a 104-103 Suns win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Saric had 11 points while coming off the bench, as he made four of nine field goals and two of two free throw attempts.

It should be noted that Saric’s role with the Suns in this year’s playoffs was drastically different than when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. Three years ago, Saric was a starter and averaged 17.2 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds per game in 10 contests. Philadelphia reached the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to the Boston Celtics in five games. In the 10 playoff games, Saric reached 20 points or more in five of them.

Saric had a reduction in playing time in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20 with Phoenix. The primary reasons were because of the improved production from Deandre Ayton at center and the acquisition of Jae Crowder via free agency on November 28.  

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