This week’s Makes and Misses reviews the good and bad from three important Miami Heat wins, against the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Utah Jazz.
A turn of the calendar has done wonders for the Miami Heat as so far, the team has yet to drop a game in the new year.
Three wins in January (four overall going back to a December 30 win in Orlando) has the Heat staring down the barrel of prime playoff positioning, something that was an afterthought just a year ago.
It wouldn’t make sense to think that the Heat cruised to high-octane wins (100+ points in all three games) without Dion Waiters and with Hassan Whiteside relegated to spectator in the fourth quarters. Especially since Justise Winslow also continues to miss time with an injury.
But it’s not about what the Heat are missing. Instead, the focus has turned to what they have now and what they could hold onto for many years to come. A budding young star in Josh Richardson appears to be emerging, as the Heat continue to also get stellar output and contributions from key veterans Wayne Ellington and James Johnson. Combined with the versatile play of Kelly Olynyk and a resurgent Goran Dragic.
The Heat are taking a collective approach to winning, rather than the star-oriented path that steers most teams around the league. The results have been inconsistent mostly, but finally the Heat appear to be finding a winning formula that is bringing this group together at the right time.
Still, questions remain. Their highest paid player (Whiteside) has struggled immensely since returning from his knee injury and remains unplayable in late game scenarios. With the emergence of Kelly Olynyk and return of James Johnson (plus rookie Bam Adebayo), questions about Whiteside’s tenure in Miami are starting to arise.
Miss: Hassan Whiteside
There’s no doubt it was a tough stretch for the Heat’s big man, who continues to work his way back from a knee injury. Whiteside was puzzling for most of the week, struggling to find any consistent effort and rendered unplayable late in games, in favor of the more versatile Kelly Olynyk and James Johnson.
Whiteside’s problems stemmed from a number of factors, the most troubling of such appears to simply be a lack of effort and focus.
This is a simple read, if Whiteside weren’t fixated on watching the ball. He isn’t in a pick and roll situation and has no responsibility to the ball. Meanwhile, his true responsibility Enes Kanter slips behind him and is able to get open for an easy basket. Whiteside simply cannot recover in time.
There’s no reason for Whiteside to get caught in this situation, and this isn’t the first time he’s had a very obvious mental lapse on the defensive end this season.
Overall, the Heat are still better defensively with him on the floor than off (Defensive Rating of 101.7 on, versus 106.5 off). But offensively, over the last three games, the Heat were worse during Whiteside’s 66 minutes; notching an offensive rating of 108.5 with the center on the floor, compared to 113.6 off. More concerning than the numbers too, was the idea that Whiteside couldn’t stay on the floor late in games, with most of his damage coming in the early periods.
Through three games, Whiteside logged just eight and a half minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Much will be made about Whiteside’s value to the team at the moment, especially if his metrics continue to trend in a direction that further proves the Heat are better off with him on the bench. The reality is the center could still be injured, or still working himself back into shape, making this something to keep an eye on as we enter the dog days of the season.
Make: Goran Dragic
After a slow start to the season, Goran Dragic had one of his best runs of the season this week and it’s no surprise that it resulted in three Heat wins.
Dragic looked like his old self after sitting out a few games, running the Heat offense with the type of precision that earned the team a stunning 119 offensive rating with him on the floor. And a meager 88 when he heads to the bench.
Spoelstra did his best to limit Dragic’s minutes after the point guard lead his native Slovenia in EuroBasket during an unusually busy, competitive summer, that led to a slow, sluggish start to the NBA season.
Sure, Dragic’s numbers on the season are still down compared to last year, particularly in the paint. He’s coming in at just 55 percent on shots inside 10 feet, compared to 64 percent last year. But his patented impact on the offense is starting to rise to the surface, as the Heat experience their most fruitful offensive period of the season, combined with a clean sheet thus far in 2018.
More than just overall offensive rating, Dragic has such an impact on the flow of the offense that his teammates are set up for better shots when he’s out on the floor. The Heat’s true shooting percentage rises to nearly 60 percent (59.1) with him running the offense, while falling to 48.6 percent off.
All of these numbers are incredibly encouraging for the second half of Dragic’s season and it appears as if the recent minute restriction is going to pay dividends to the Heat’s winning ways, as they position themselves for a deep playoff run thanks to their offensive leader.
Make: James Johnson
It’s not a coincidence that the Heat are undefeated following the return of James Johnson from injury, playing his first game since the middle of December during a January 3 tilt with the Detroit Pistons.
Of course, Johnson’s trademark defense and playmaking versatility gave the Heat an added dynamic on both ends of the floor, but nowhere was his impact felt more than on the defensive end. Particularly late in games, as the Heat pulled out dramatic wins against the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz.
Overall, the Heat sported a dominant defensive rating of 95 with Johnson on the floor over this three-game stretch (that rating ballooned to 118 with Johnson off). But it was the crucial plays late, that helped the Heat put away these pesky opponents.
Starting with a testy overtime against the Knicks, Johnson came up with a key steal that sprung Josh Richardson for the game’s deciding points, thanks to blanketing defense on both Kristaps Porzingis and then again on Jarrett Jack.
Johnson teamed up with Kelly Olynyk for this defensive stand, showcasing two of the Heat’s most versatile players working together. Not only does Johnson prevent the pass into Porzingis by aggressively fronting, but he is able to rotate over to Jack when Olynyk is beat off the dribble and anticipate the pass.
Porzingis is easily the Knicks’ best player in that situation, so leaving him wouldn’t normally be in the best interest of the defense. But Johnson trusts his ability to the point of being able to deflect that pass and not allow Porzingis an easy run to the rim.
The numbers on the defensive end over this stretch are staggering and shows just how disruptive he can be. Offensive players shot almost 11 percent below their average when guarded by Johnson and those shots outside 15 feet came in at just 11 percent, a 28 percent difference from the average.
Johnson’s poise on defense, particularly when contesting shots, showed during the final possession against the Jazz.
Again, Johnson understands the situation fully, knowing that Donovan Mitchell doesn’t have enough time to get a pass to an open Rodney Hood. The only option for Mitchell is to take the final shot and Johnson makes that infinitely more challenging. Without his help, the sensational rookie probably gets off the shot that he wanted.
There isn’t a technical term for this type of action, it’s just simply veteran savviness, which is exactly what the Heat need from Johnson down the stretch this year. He doesn’t need to be the highest scorer or very best player every night.
Next: The Miami Heat are reaping the benefits of the NBA Draft
But he’s the glue that holds this Heat team together and the more he plays like this, the more wins they’ll pile up.