Miami Heat Makes and Misses: Justise Winslow’s expanded role and more
By Rob Slater
There’s a new AllUCanHeat column in town. Welcome to Makes and Misses, a weekly look at the Miami Heat’s progress.
The Miami Heat are once again a team learning how to play together, and more importantly, learning how to win.
In the midst of a six-game road trip out west, the Heat went on a four-game rollercoaster starting with a nail-biter in Los Angeles, beating the Clippers after blowing a 24-point lead. An underwhelming effort against the Golden State Warriors, led to more Hassan Whiteside drama, with the week wrapping up with an impressive handling of the struggling Phoenix Suns and a gutsy victory versus the Utah Jazz.
The last of which was possibly the least eventful, as both the Heat and Jazz engaged in a sloppy affair that was decided by some clutch baskets from Dion Waiters and Josh Richardson down the stretch.
The Heat then had a chance to wrap up their road trip with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night, but unfortunately instead fell short 112-103.
Over the course of the week, Waiters missed time due to the birth of his daughter, Tyler Johnson didn’t play in Phoenix and once again head coach Erik Spoelstra was tasked with filling out an inconsistent rotation.
The four games this week showed a team that is still trying to find its identity and one that is getting close to that discovery. Let’s take a look at some of the positives (makes) and negatives (misses) from the week that was.