Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic has history of playing well vs Phoenix Suns

Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic has a great track record against his former team, the Phoenix Suns.

Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic knows how to succeed against the Phoenix Suns. In fact, since being traded, he has only lost one game against his former team.

Having been drafted No. 45 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 2008, Dragic’s rights were then immediately traded over to the Suns, where he would end up spending the first half of his career. Aside from a brief stint with the Houston Rockets from February 11, 2011 until July 19, 2012, the Slovenia-native resided in Phoenix until February 19, 2015. At which point, he made the move to South Beach, never looking back.

The 31-year-old had some great runs with the Suns. He was even named the league’s Most Improved Player in 2014, after averaging 20.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals a game, in 35.1 minutes. However, Dragic is now playing his best basketball yet.

Alongside Dwyane Wade, the veteran struggled a bit. Used to being the one setting the offensive tone and tempo, Dragic couldn’t quite get into a groove. But even so, his first full season in Miami, he averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steal per contest. And once Wade found greener pastures in Chicago with the Bulls, he was back to scoring an average of 20.3 points per matchup. He also went from shooting 31.2 percent from downtown, to 40.5 percent.

The guard’s success also included four wins over his former team.

On March 2, 2015, the Heat took a commanding 115-98 victory over Phoenix, as Dragic finished with 21 points and 4 rebounds, going 5-of-9 from the field, and 2-for-2 from beyond-the-arc. Teammate Hassan Whiteside also made things interesting, getting into it with Suns big man Alex Len.

The next time these two ball clubs met was January 8, 2016. Miami won 103-95, as Dragic totaled 22 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists. He shot 8-of-15 from the field, including going 3-of-5 from 3-point land.

Then on March 3, 2016, the star led the Heat to a 108-92 victory, recording 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field (having gone 3-for-6 from 3), 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

The team’s first loss to Phoenix since acquiring Dragic came on January 3, 2017, when they fell short, 99-90. Still, he scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, also grabbing three rebounds and dishing out nine assists.

As for the latest meeting, Miami came out on top once more, 112-97. Despite Dragic not playing as well as usual, finishing with 16 points (on 6-of-15 shooting), 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

The question now is, how will he fair versus the Suns tonight?

Despite the Heat’s recent struggles, Dragic has still been playing lights out basketball. Currently averaging 19.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists, he’s been just about the only consistent aspect of the team’s 2017-18 run so far.

Next: Members of Miami Heat speak on Hassan Whiteside benching

The Miami Heat will take on the Phoenix Suns at 9 PM ET.