Miami Heat: What the team is missing with Goran Dragic still sidelined

Goran Dragic is still sidelined due to injury, leaving the Miami Heat without a true point guard.

So far this season, Goran Dragic has only seen time in 14 games for the Miami Heat.

Having suffered a knee injury on November 16, against the Indiana Pacers, the veteran sat out the next eight games. He then returned on December 7, just in time to take on his old team, the Phoenix Suns, totaling 11 points in 21 minutes on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, as well as 10 assists.

Unfortunately however, that win didn’t mark the return of Dragic for good.

Instead, he sat out the next matchup, came back on December 10 versus the Los Angeles Lakers (recording seven points in 18 minutes of play), and has continued to be sidelined again ever since.

Confusing on its own, certainly, but made worse by a lack of any real explanation from the organization.

Regardless of the details at hand though, one thing is for sure: the team is missing the 32-year-old.

Badly.

For starters, he’s the only real point guard the Heat have.

While Justise Winslow has recently started to once again thrive in that role (he’s averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steal a game so far this month, having finished with 28 points and seven rebounds against the Lakers), he’s still working on developing his playmaking and ball-handling skills.

A stud at Duke, Winslow is better known for his elite defense, and only began to explore playing the point last year.

Additionally, his shooting has been inconsistent, at times making himself an offensive liability.

Dragic, on the other hand, is not only a rock solid shooter, but has mastered the art of running head coach Erik Spoelstra’s system. What’s more is his ability to effectively control Miami’s tempo, something that becomes especially important when different rotations feature various types of players; a guy like Josh Richardson can obviously be pushed to perform at a higher speed, than say Dwyane Wade.

The Heat are also very much missing the Slovenia-native’s leadership qualities.

Although Wade has done a great job of taking the likes of Bam Adebayo under his wing off of the court, Dragic is more vocal on the floor.

And not just when it comes to Miami’s younger players either.

He’s been a great mentor to Hassan Whiteside, who unfortunately has once again begun to show signs of frustration with the way he’s been utilized.

Whatever is going on with Dragic, here’s hoping he finds his way back into the Miami Heat’s lineup soon.