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Miami Heat: 3 players that could be the x-factor this season

By John Jablonka

The Miami Heat's James Johnson and Goran Dragic, left, greet Dion Waiters (11) as they lead in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Fla. on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. The Heat won, 108-101. (Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS via Getty Images)
The Miami Heat's James Johnson and Goran Dragic, left, greet Dion Waiters (11) as they lead in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Fla. on Wednesday, March 8, 2017. The Heat won, 108-101. (Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS via Getty Images) /
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Miami Heat
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – APRIL 5: Dion Waiters #11 of the Miami Heat lo/ against the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 5, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Dion Waiters

Once upon a time, Waiters was having the best stretch of games of his career and looked to be the best player for the Miami Heat. Though, through a series of injuries, that sadly didn’t happen. With the emergence of the young core and a star in Butler though, his role should be completely different.

Despite all of that, he is still arguably the second-best scorer on the team. There are two possibilities for Waiters and both would significantly contribute to the team.

The first one is to be the starting shooting guard alongside Butler and Dragic. The team finally got their star and they even a reliable point guard. All that is needed now is a clear-cut second option, a role that could be filled by Waiters. With the primary focus on Butler, that should open up many looks and create a ton of opportunities for Waiters.

The second possibility for Waiters is to become the top scorer off the bench. This is perhaps where he can be the biggest part of Miami’s success. When it comes to Heat’s bench unit over the last few seasons, they have been quite average.

During last season, the Miami Heat’s bench unit ranked 17th in offensive rating, 14th in defensive rating, and 14th in net rating. They were pretty much average at everything.

That can change if Waiters is coming off the bench. With Waiters playing more with the second unit, he should then be able to do what he does best and that is to get buckets. Regardless of the situation, Waiters will have quite a number of opportunities and if capitalized upon, he can be a significant part of Miami’s success.

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