Miami made headlines with its blockbuster acquisition of Goran Dragic at last week’s trade deadline. The Heat appeared to be in position to make the playoffs and possibly win a series. Fans envisioned a matchup against Cleveland, in which the team had a chance to knock a LeBron James-led team out of the playoffs, something no Eastern Conference team was able to accomplish while the four-time MVP was in Miami.
Less than 24 hours after the trade, the optimism surrounding the team faded. Medical tests indicated that Chris Bosh had multiple blood clots in his lungs and although he was released from the hospital today, as Surya Fernandez of Fox Sports relays, the center remains out for the rest of the season. The news was obviously devastating to Bosh and the team.
On the court, it leaves Miami with a clear void. Bosh was averaging 21.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per game this season. The team signed Michael Beasley to a 10-day contract earlier this week. The former No. 2 overall pick has some experience playing the four spot but has been a hindrance on the defensive end in the past. The Heat had interest in Andray Blatche earlier this season and he would be a more traditional option to replace some of Bosh’s production.
Finding that production over its remaining games is crucial. The race for the seventh and eighth seed in the conference looks to be a tight one down the stretch. The Heat, Pacers, Pistons, Celtics, Hornets and Nets are all within three games of each other in the loss column entering Saturday night. After tonight’s loss against Atlanta, Miami has 24 games left, with seven of those against the teams in this clustered race for the last two playoff spots. Another 12 games are against teams with a better record than the Heat. With a tough schedule and a roster that lacks depth, the team’s small lead in the race for the playoffs could evaporate with just a short stretch of poor play or an additional injury.
If Dragic can fit in seamlessly and play at a star-caliber level, Miami has a chance to maintain its current position. The franchise paid a hefty price to acquire the 28-year-old. The Heat surrendered two first round picks, as well as several reserves, to bring Dragic aboard but they could have waited until the offseason to try to acquire him via free agency. Miami was on the guard’s shortlist of teams that he desired to play for but the team would have been forced to make corresponding moves in order to meet Dragic’s expected salary demands, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors notes. By not waiting and paying such a price midseason, it was a clear sign that the team’s priority was not only to acquire Dragic, but also to improve the team this season in order to make a substantial postseason run.
After the highs and lows that Miami has endured recently, will the Heat be making a postseason appearance?
I dont get why they went after dragic if not using him as PG? I really don’t get it.
As much as miami love wade he is killing this team right now.he has to let goran organize OFF and has to be playing as SG
Wade has struggled with his jumpshot since coming back from the missed time. I’m assuming you dont watch the games and only look at the numbers. Dragic has run the offense since he has been here. Yes, Wade has isolated or taken a few more bad shots than you would want in the last couple of games, but our ball movement has lead to missed shots, so its hard to act like the issue is not moving the ball. The issue is the same as it has been all year. We cant make shots. Also, the passiveness that I’ve seen all year is still there, and Dragic is now part of that. Tonight, the Heat didnt take advantage of their clear advantage inside against Atlanta, and turned the ball over way too many times. The defense on pick and rolls is also really struggling without Chris Bosh, which was expected. However, we also lost the spacing that he gives us offensively. Hopefully, Beasley can at least fill some of that, and Bill Walker has played pretty well (besides tonight). Right now, the main issue over the last few games has probably been decision making. That should fix itself.
this was my first game that I watched via live stream of this year’s Miami heat team (bc of Goran)-before I just read the news &watched some highlights…I was kinda shocked that you gave up 2 picks for good PG& you don’t use him. When GD was w wade on the floor wade was PG, than when GD was on the floor with 2nd unit Chalmers was PG…sorry to tell y but this won’t work….it seems the team doesn’t trust Goran to run the team right now…also what is Heats OFF set: I couldn’t finde the pattern especially offensive sets for Goran – 3s from the top not from corner, give&go basketball no existent and most importantly heat doesn’t play pick&roll at all (I mean Goran is master in P&R and he didn’t play one this game…he needs great partner to set him a screen bc as good at attacking the basket and rebounding hassan is, he is bad at setting the screens)…also if I return on Goran not being PG he is a rhythm shooter – if he get in the rhythm you can’t stop him but for that he needs the ball….I really hope wade can go back to playing his original position SG& lets goran be what he is best at-being PG and not spot up shooter (I know at this game Goran was injured but same seems to happen in the game vs Pelicans too when Wade even though he had a bad shooting night led offence in last moments)
Read the first couple of sentences of your post before making this initial reply, and I’ll add to it afterward if I see any reason to reply to the rest of your post. Dragic got hurt in yesterday’s game. He could barely walk according to Spo, but wanted to play in the 2nd half. Spo said he probably shouldnt have let him get back on the floor. Thats part of it.
The Heat have had to constantly change their playstyle throughout the season b/c of injuries that seem to occur every single night. Every time they start to gain any sort of rhythm, someone else goes out with an injury or illness. Bosh being out effects their ability on the pick&roll, but they still run it a lot with Whiteside and Anderson (who also didnt play b/c of illness)…Since you have obviously never seen Dwyane Wade play in your whole life before these last 2 games, you dont realize that he normally dosnt isolate as much, and the Heat runs offense through him in the post. Also, with Wade and Whiteside on the floor together, the Heat have outscored opponents by 10 points per 100 possessions. The Wade-Whiteside pick and roll has been deadly, and I expect Dragic and Whiteside to be a great combination in that regard as well. That being said, there were at least 4 occassions where Dragic missed the dump off or alley oop pass to a wide open Whiteside in the lane. Part of that is the passiveness on the part of Dragic since he was traded. Anyway, even with the guys that missed the game for Atlanta, they still are very good defensively on the perimeter. The real issue with the game was the fact that the Heat didnt feed their advantage in the post with Whiteside nearly enough….Last thing, as I just noticed what you mentioned at the end of your post. Wade leads the league in scoring in the 4th quarter and overtime. That is why he had the ball at the end of the game. The other night in Orlando, he struggled for almost the entirety of the game, until he had a big 4th quarter to help them push it to OT and then win it.
Nice read :-D
I admit again that was my first impression& I pointed out
what I noticed…
also I like wade’s game (about comments I made: bc he just came
back from injury I thought some else might be better fit to end those
games)&I admit I would watch heat more if it wasn’t for James (I hope I
don’t upset or offend you – great player in the nba but I dislike him the most
in whole NBA- don’t know why, may be bc his style of play, I call it “tank
style” bc he is like tank when he goes to the basket and he doesn’t care
who is in front of him or what might happen to that guy)
I don’t get the part of Goran being passive – what did you mean
with this comment?
With heat now he is more active than he was for whole year in
PHX where he was literally standing in the corner watching EB&IT…here he
is part of the offence (which has to gel together)
there have been times where Dragic has passed up opportunities to shoot, drive the lane, make a play, etc b/c of hesitation. In those instances, he never would have passed up those looks previously. Its just about being totally comfortable in his new surroundings. He is starting to get there now.
As for LeBron, you’re entitled to your own opinion, but people arent going to always like the best player in the league simply b/c he is the best player in the league. I always respected his game when he was previously in Cleveland, but always felt that Dwyane Wade was overlooked and disrespected back then in favor of LeBron. When you get a chance to see greatness on a nightly basis though, its very hard to not be blown away by how good he really is and what kind of a freak of nature he is. We may never see anything like him again, with his combination of size, speed, and ability. Playing in the post is important, as he can facilitate offense out of the post or create his own look. In the half court, it makes it so much easier to score, and thats especially important in the playoffs. This is where Kevin Durant and OKC have their issues. He needs to have more of a willingness to do his work early, and get on the elbow, and catch the ball closer to the basket. It cant be so difficult to score. You have to have some easy ones.
Hmmm I highly doubt that HEAT will even reach play-offs when they keep on depending on their BIG 2 that cannot play -_-
With all of our home games remaining and the way we play at home, I could almost se us fall into the mid-lottery lol…That being said, I think we still do. We continue to have some of the same issues as we’ve had all season, and let another 2 winnable games pass us by, but it seems like they are starting to gain some continuity on the floor (which may be disrupted again with Dragic getting hurt tonight), and the new additions have given us some help in some trouble areas. I expect the Celtics and Pistons to fight it out for the last spot, assuming we stay in it
Hassan Whiteside is great and all but he’s no Bosh. The fact is there’s no replacement even close to Bosh’s level, and literally no move they make would make up for Bosh’s absence. Add in Wade’s unpredictable knees, and the lack of interior players without Bosh.. oh right they play in the Eastern Conference, of course they’ll get in