Miami Heat Basketball continues to stand for team ball.
The injury bug has bitten the Miami Heat time and time again this season.
Currently, Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside are sidelined, both having already missed a handful of games earlier in 2017-18.
And while missing talent is never a good thing, especially when it causes an organization to use over 20 different starting lineups in one year, there is still a silver-lining: it forces a squad to better distribute the workload.
Which is exactly what the Heat have learned how to do.
Playing team ball has always been at the core of Miami Heat Basketball, but more so in recent seasons than ever. After The Big 3 Era had passed, Chris Bosh dealt with health issues and Wade made his departure, the franchise was left without a so-called headliner, instead moving towards a bit of a youth movement. Although Goran Dragic and Whiteside stuck around, the future was left to the likes of Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow, with Bam Adebayo having recently been added to the mix.
Leaving them without a go-to guy, even with Wade having returned.
Instead, Miami has 17.
"“That’s amazing when you can accomplish when you just play together, share the ball and nobody cares,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said, following Monday’s double overtime win over the Denver Nuggets. “Nobody cares who’s the leading scorer. You have emotional stability that it can be different guys, different nights. It’s the strength in numbers. Now that’s a good thing. Our offense has been trending the right way for a while.”"
On Monday, six out of nine guys finished in double figures. While James Johnson led the way with 31 points on 13-for-17 shooting, Kelly Olynyk scored 30, going 11-of-16. Wayne Ellington came alive with 23 points from six 3-pointers, and Dragic sealed the deal with 20 points of his own.
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As for the three players who didn’t find themselves with hot hands?
Well, Tyler Johnson shot 2-of-3 from downtown, grabbed four rebounds and dished three assists. Adebayo grabbed eight rebounds. And Rodney McGruder went a perfect 1-of-1 from the field in nine minutes of play.
In other words, they all still very much found ways to contribute.
And that’s what allowed them to hang in there, even with two overtime periods trying to hold them down.
Now, it goes without saying that both the team and fans are anxious to get Wade and Whiteside back (alongside staying completely healthy from here on out). But it’s good to know that even without two major threats, the Heat aren’t scared of a battle. In fact, it just may make guys work a little harder.
Take James Johnson, for example, who is averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game on the year, and has seemed to be struggling as of late.
Next: Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade: Then, now and what's to come
The Miami Heat will take on the New York Knicks tonight at 7:30 PM ET.