Miami Heat: 4 midseason questions for this middling Heat team
By Trey Flynn
The Miami Heat are coming off a respectful 112-108 win against the Memphis Grizzlies, making their record 21-20 going into the second half of the regular season. We have 4 questions this Heat team has right now as they try and improve down-the-stretch.
All U Can Heat (AUCH) asked two of our fantastic contributors 4 questions about the current state of this Miami Heat team and what they can do moving forward with this squad in the short term.
Imran Ebrahim and Rahmeaun Rahming try their best to summarize the roster and a particular player, problems with the lineup, and possible trade ideas in the next few questions, enjoy.
No. 1 – What did you think of Dion Waiters’ first game back?
Rahmeaun: I felt like Dwyane The Rock Johnson making his return to WWE Smackdown. Finally…
After waiting a year to see Waiters suit up, we indeed had to wait a little longer. The Heat have a peculiar habit of waiting until the last possible minute to act on fan/media based ultimatums. Heat Nation watched as he started to appear on the bench during games, being assigned to the Sky Force, traveling on the team plane, and arriving in Cleveland, Ohio. It was at this point that the ports to Waiters Island started to look like Foot Locker when the Jordan Concords were re-released. I know for sure I was saying, “If he doesn’t suit up against his old team (who happens to be one of the worst in the NBA) it’s just not going to happen, or a trade is being worked on behind closed doors. Alas, he did see some minutes, but fans were kept waiting until the second half of action. Head Coach Erik Spoelstra made sure to get all the regulars their minutes before inserting Mr. Philly Cheese. When he entered the game, it was a treat to see, and I felt proud of the Philadelphia native. He did not disappoint with two quick jump shots. It’s as if he came into the game already white hot. I don’t think there is a person in the world that doesn’t want to see Waiters flourish while playing more, myself included.
Imran: Well, firstly, it’s always exciting to get a player back from injury after waiting that long. Especially if that player has the potential to be a spark plug the way that Dion Waiters can be. You could tell immediately that Dion Waiters of old would be coming out of that tunnel, as he got up 9 shots in the 10 minutes that he played. I almost foolishly expected him to be a bit timid, considering that it was such a long time since he’s played and with it being his ankle. There’s a LOT of moving pieces on this team, especially when it comes to handles the ball off the bench so it’ll be interesting going forward, even when Goran Dragic returns.
I think it was also very beneficial for him to get those minutes without Dwyane Wade on the floor, at least for it being his first game. But with him and Wade spear-heading the bench unit from now on, he has to get a chemistry going with a guy he’s never played with and on whom all the Miami Heat attention is on with his #OneLastDance.