An elite Goran Dragic is vital for the Heat’s playoff push

Without an All Star on the roster, the production level of Goran Dragic is imperative for the Miami Heat as the playoff race comes down to the wire.

The Miami Heat’s latest win, a 112-99 road victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, wasn’t just significant in their race to secure a playoff berth. It again reinforced the incredible importance of point guard Goran Dragic.

While the Heat’s turnaround since finding themselves on Jan. 17 with an 11-30 record has come from a number of fronts, and Dragic’s influence is simply hard to play down.

Dragic has played in 69 of the Heat’s 78 games this season, performing at a level comparable to his 2013-14 season where he was chosen to the all-NBA third team. He is now averaging 20.3 points, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.5 minutes per game this season. His 40.9 percent shooting from behind three is a career high. (In 2013-14, Dragic averaged 20.3 points, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 35.1 minutes per game).

Read More: Is this the best season of Goran Dragic’s career?

In the games Dragic has missed, the Heat have a 1-8 record.

But there have been some areas in particular where Dragic has excelled this season that have been vital to the Heat’s success this season.

The Heat’s victory over the Hornets saw Dragic record 33 points including 5-of-9 from behind the three-point line. It was the ninth game this season in which Dragic has converted on four or more three-pointers. The Heat now have a 7-2 record in such games. A notable element of this is the fact that eight of these nine games came with at least one day of rest.

With the playoffs approaching and if the Heat do manage to advance, this is extremely encouraging. With no back-to-backs played during the postseason, this can only increase the chances of Dragic excelling from downtown and repeating such performances.

But it’s not just his shooting that has contributed to the Heat’s success. Dragic committed just one turnover Wednesday despite having a usage rate of 32.9. It was the15th time this season that Dragic has committed one or less turnovers in a game. The Heat now have an 11-4 record in these games.

So with the playoff race heating up, and just four regular season games remaining, having the Heat’s primary ball handler in total control of the ball and the offense is going to be vital.

The intensity is going to rise, and hence the on-ball pressure will be even more prevalent.

Dragic has had 24 games this season, however, where he has been somewhat reckless, and has committed four or more turnovers. Notably, the Heat are just 8-16 in these games.

However, as good as Dragic has been this season, his best stretch came when he played and started alongside backcourt partner Dion Waiters. Ever since Waiters has been sidelined with an ankle injury, the Heat have somewhat struggled, compiling a 4-5 record, which was preceded by their amazing 23-5 run.

From the start of their partnership on Jan. 10, until Waiters’ untimely injury, Dragic posted 21.7 points and 5.4 assists per game, which included 51.9 percent shooting from the field and 44.2 percent from behind three. During this nine-game absence, Dragic’s shooting has dropped to 43.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three.

Impressively, Dragic and Waiters currently rank in the top six players in the league for drives per game. Waiters’ ability to attack the defense, and either try and score or kick out to the perimeter, takes an enormous amount of pressure off Dragic. It means less energy expenditure and a greater likelihood of efficiency when shooting from the field.

The Hornets game, however, clearly indicated that Dragic is still capable of producing terrific games at an efficient rate even without Waiters. But the stats show that those are fewer and farther between. Waiters’ return is yet to be determined.

Next: Ranking the Heat’s best-case first round playoff matchups

The Heat have the eighth seed with just four games remaining, but a tough stretch in which they play the Raptors, Cavaliers and Wizards (twice). All playoff teams.

However, if Dragic can come close to repeating his performance against the Hornets, the Heat should have enough to hold it down until Waiters returns.