Miami Heat: 13 player grades for the first half of the regular season

The Miami Heat’s fan-favorite Dion Waiters has become one of the more perplexing role players around the league. Mostly because if he read that he was a role player on here, he would be disgusted with this column, because he truly believes he is a superstar.

And while we are all supposed to love that confidence, it does feel a little Mario Hezonja-ish from when he said he was one of the best players in the NBA when he was drafted years back.

However, Waiters’ will be a huge help for Miami’s stagnant offense moving forward, with only playing actual minutes in a few games this season, you could already see the potential spark plug that Waiters can be off the Heat bench very soon.

The 27-year-old may be looking to have better days sometime soon, as he has been looking to Dwyane Wade as the player he wants to try and mirror some of his future play off of, which wouldn’t be that bad of an idea.

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reveals the details of Waiters’ feelings on Wade below:

"“He’s such a great basketball player in making plays, and he’s so smart,” Waiters said of Wade. “So when I’m out there and he’s got the ball and he’s doing his thing, I’m watching. “I’d be taking notes in my head, of the things that he’s doing on the floor, right then and there — the quick decision making, baiting the defense. I’ll just be looking at him.” The Heat’s offense is predicated on constant movement. Drive. Kick. Cut. Screen. Post. Re-post. But when aspects of your game have been compared to an impending Hall of Famer, taking notes sometimes can take precedence. “Sometimes I get caught up looking at him, trying to dissect everything he’s doing right there in that one play,” said Waiters, at 27 nearly 10 years younger than Wade. “So I’ll just be out there learning and I think that’s a great tool for me. “I already talk to him so much, like we pick each other’s brains and things like that. But when I’m out there, I’m just watching him. I’m watching him on the attack. Like I said, I’m just dissecting the game when I’m out there.”"

We all hope that Waiters’ will continue to dissect Wade’s game and hopefully learn something from him, as I know he has done a bit already, showing flashes of Wade in his facilitating when driving to the rim.

In conclusion, it is hard to grade Waiters in only 65 minutes played this season, but the Dion gamble is one that Miami needs to win big on to grab a solid spot in the playoffs.

The next player is a co-captain that has been hampered with injuries, not the guy from Slovenia.