Before the Miami Heat’s year kicked off, we dove into 3 goals for each player this season. Around the quarter mark, let’s take a look at progress thus far.
The Miami Heat are an excellent team this season. With one of the best records in the entire NBA in their pockets, they are also the third-place team in the Eastern Conference at the moment as well. Thet have a tough back to back set coming up on Friday and Saturday of this week that will either solidify or entirely shake that stance up, but regardless, they are still a really good team.
They are a pretty good team for a few reasons, but mainly because of the good players they have on the team. They have their stars, their quintessential role players, and other factors that it takes to have a good team, but most of all, they have a really good sixth man.
His name is Goran Dragic and that very fact had a ton to do with the goals we had for him this season, but let’s look at them specifically as we look to revisit them. Here were our three goals for Goran Dragic heading into this season.
- Embracing the Sixth Man Role
- Play at least 75 games
- Regain his shooting efficiency
Embracing the Sixth Man Role
Goran Dragic has already aced this test, so to speak. He touched on it just immediately prior to this season in interviews, noting that although he’s a competitor and he wants to be out there starting, that he will embrace whatever role he is given and will give his best in that role.
He has more than done that, becoming a weapon (as we predicted he could and would be) and a very necessary part of the potion that makes this team as special as they are and/or can be. On top of what he means to from a team perspective, he’s personally having one of his best seasons as a pro and in a Miami Heat uniform, while it all takes place across a season in which he’s playing his second-fewest minutes per game in a Miami Heat uniform. This doesn’t mean that he isn’t playing a ton though, as he still plays 28.6 minutes off the pine for the Heat.
Play at least 75 games
This one is already pretty cut and dry done. Across 30 Miami Heat games this season, Goran has only played in 20 of them, already missing out on the 75 game goal we had for him prior to the season.
This particular goal really doesn’t matter nor wouldn’t be the same today though, as he has been so good in his role while on the floor. The Heat have been good without him, but can be downright lethal with him, while they definitely need him healthy for big games against contenders and if they hope to make a deep playoff run.
Regain his shooting efficiency
As apart of his stellar year thus far, that should at least see a Sixth Man Of The Year nod if not the award itself as a result, Dragic has been special with the touch. He is having his second-best season ever shooting the three, which really isn’t a fair measure when you dive into the numbers.
The only season that tops the 41.4 percent from deep that he is shooting this season is his 2010-2011 season in which he shot nearly 52 percent at 51.9. The kicker here though is that in that season, he was only taking 2.5 attempts per game which he is more than doubling this season at 5.6 attempts per game.
His 5.6 attempts per game at such a percentage not only put that set of figures to shame but his attempts are at their highest mark ever and by one complete attempt. He is taking the most three-pointers per game by far over his career, almost 6 per game while nailing his second-highest percentage ever. That is crazy good, but also safe to say that he is well on his way to accomplishing this goal as well.
The Miami Heat are off to a wonderful start, as we mentioned, and they have the chance to keep doing something special this season. Goran Dragic will be a huge part of whatever success they look to continue to have, so to see him playing well means all the better for the team and their chances. The fact that he is crushing the goals already that we set for him prior to the season is nothing but a good sign and we hope to see him continue to play well.