Miami Heat: What’s working so far for the 2018-19 team?
The Miami Heat may only be 1-2 right now, but there’s still plenty working for the 2018-19 team so far.
The Miami Heat haven’t had the greatest start to their 2018-19 campaign.
Sure, Dwyane Wade‘s One Last Dance Tour is in full effect. And a last-minute win over the ever-aggressive Washington Wizards is always nice. Plus, Denzel Curry’s remix of Switch It Up is straight fire.
(No seriously, I want to make it my daily morning alarm.)
But a season-opener loss to the Orlando Magic hurt. And not being able to secure a victory after crawling back from a 26-point deficit against the Charlotte Hornets, wasn’t ideal.
Nevermind all the injuries the team is still dealing with.
(Apparently Hassan Whiteside is now suffering from a groin strain?)
Still, it’s early. Way too much so to draw any conclusions, let alone start to panic.
What’s more, is that there are indeed things that have been going well for this roster, underneath all of the turnovers and bad fouls.
Rook 2
I don’t care if you were fine with president Pat Riley giving Josh Richardson up for Jimmy Butler (that’s a lie, I’m hardcore judging you); you can’t deny that he’s slowly but surely proving his worth as the future of the franchise.
The guard wants it too. So darn badly. Which makes his progress that much more special.
So far this year, he’s averaging career-highs of 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game, in 34.3 minutes of play.
And in the Heat’s win against the Wizards, he scored 28 points in 38 minutes, going 5-of-11 from downtown.
Regardless of whatever else may be happening with the team at any given moment, fans can at least rest assured that the swingman is sure to always be out there balling. Which is not only incredibly fun to watch, but makes the idea of a successful youth movement in South Florida, that much more promising.
Big man showdown
There’s currently a debate happening on #HeatTwitter, regarding whether or not Bam Adebayo is eventually going to phase out Whiteside. I don’t have the answer to that (weird that I can’t predict the future, right?,) but I will say that I’d rather have them coexist.
Because right now, they’re both showing up and showing out.
While Whiteside 2.0 is dunking on fools and fighting for loose balls, all while flashing a shiny new set of pearly whites, the sophomore sensation is going coast-to-coast and giving point Justise Winslow a run for his money.
In Miami’s season-opener, Whiteside finished with 12 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks in 34 minutes. As for Adebayo, he had his best game versus the Hornets, totaling 12, six and two in 15.
Even Kelly Olynyk already has people talking, for his game-winner in Washington.
That’s that big man edition of Miami Heat Basketball, right there.
Do it for the Culture
Listen, one thing that has never swayed is the team’s grind-it-out, go-hard-or-go-home, never-give-up mentality.
And you better believe that’s been the case so far this year too.
Whether it’s Whiteside pestering Aaron Gordon ad nauseam, Goran Dragic creating contract any way he can, or Dwyane Wade rebounding and then laying in his own missed 3-pointer, this group leaves it all out there on the court, to do whatever it takes to win.
(Including head coach Erik Spoelstra, who never ceases to amaze me with how animated he gets, with each quarter of play that passes by.)
In other words, the Culture is going strong.
Next. Miami Heat 1-on-1: What will 2018-18 play have in store for fans?. dark
The Miami Heat are only getting started.