Still on the shelf: Dragic out for fifth consecutive game
MIAMI — Goran Dragic’s seemingly minor knee issue has extended into a major absence with the Miami Heat point guard out for a fifth consecutive game Tuesday night against the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Dragic initially missed two games with the knee injury before returning for an uneven four-game span that included pair of 20-point games but also pair of games when he went scoreless in one and scored eight in the other.
He has been out since, starting with the Nov. 18 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He then had his knee drained the following day, missing the Heat’s just-concluded two-game trip against the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors.
Dragic, 32, has two seasons left on his contract, including a player option for next season.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has downplayed the lack of another true point guard on the roster, citing the ballhandling and playmaking of James Johnson, Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, among others.
The Heat also remain without reserve guard Tyler Johnson, with Tuesday marking his fourth consecutive absence with strained right hamstring.
“There is no definitive update,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They’re both getting better. They’re both doing a little bit more. But we’ll continue to take it day by day.”
The Heat also remain without guard Dion Waiters, who has been sidelined since January ankle surgery.
“He’s making progress. He’s doing more work each week when I see him,” Spoelstra said, with Waiters yet to participate in practice.
Asked if Waiters could be back by the turn of the calendar, Spoelstra only would say, “We don’t have an update.
aI’m always about, optimistic about any of our guys.”
The Heat are operating with a 14-player roster (not counting the two players on two-way contracts), one shy of the NBA maximum.
The adjustments: With Dragic out, it has moved Wayne Ellington into the starting lineup and Justise Winslow into a role as a primary ballhandler with the second unit, after previously starting at power forward.
Ellington started only two games last season, having spent the overwhelming majority of his career as a reserve.
“I’m getting more comfortable with it,” Ellington said. “Obviously, I’ve been used to coming off the bench. I’ve done that a lot. So it’s getting more comfortable, obviously, in just playing with that unit.
“And that’s been the situation all year long, where you’ve had a lot of guys in and out. It’s still figuring it out.”
Winslow said he views his NBA future as playmaker, but is not sure he ever will be defined as a point guard.
“Five years from now there may not really be positions in this game,” he said. “So the way different guys guard, the centers are able to shoot the ball now, some of that position stuff may go out the door. But I do see myself as I continue to develop and continue to get older and get better, as a primary ballhandler for an NBA team.”
Jersey allocation: Dwyane Wade said Tuesday he had the Heat order a full season’s worth of extra No. 3 jerseys in anticipation of postgame swaps amid his self-proclaimed “One Last Dance.”
“It definitely wasn’t my idea from the standpoint of it’s been done in soccer or football,” he said. “But from the NBA standpoint, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do, just thinking about my last year and the things I’ve wanted to do.
“I remember Kobe [Bryant], in his last year, a lot of guys meeting him in the back and his signing the shoes for them and all these things. I reached out early to the Heat, even before I decided to come back and said if I do, I need to order 82 jerseys, because this is something that I want to do. And not that I’m going to give out 82. I’m definitely going to save some for my teammates, going to save some for myself.”