Miami Heat Makes and Misses: Third quarter struggles and more

Miss: Goran Dragic

It was a tough week at the office for the point guard.

Goran Dragic had two matchups with one of the most difficult backcourts in the league, as John Wall and Bradley Beal pinned their ears back and picked on the point guard on one end, greatly affecting his game on the other end.

Over the course of four games, Dragic was responsible for 13 turnovers and topped 20 points just once, in a home loss against Wall, Beal and the Wizards. Dragic scored just six points in Washington and then eight against the Pacers, far from the type of production the Heat need from their point guard.

This was the type of week that it was for Dragic, overmatched and without a lifeline as none of his teammates proved reliable offensively. The last two games were a sign of fatigue setting in after two brutal matchups against Wall and Beal. It doesn’t get any easier as Kyrie Irving and the Celtics come to town on Wednesday.

The reality is, if Dragic isn’t playing up to his averages, the Heat have just about no chance to win on any given night. He is the head of the snake of a team that is already limited offensively (the Heat scored over 100 points just once this week) and is relied upon to facilitate and score.

While the point totals are concerning, the shot is something that’ll come and go as averages work themselves out. That shouldn’t be the main area of focus. The real trouble area is the turnovers, which have arguably cost the Heat several games this season already.

Coming off of a season where he averaged nearly three turnovers per game (team-leading), Dragic can’t allow that trend to continue (already at 2.4 turnovers per game) especially with a team having as much trouble holding onto the ball as the Heat.