Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Waiters named Player of the Week.
MIAMI — The accolades have been limited for the Miami Heat since the breakup of the Big Three, but Dion Waiters now has his moment, named Monday as NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday.
Waiters becomes the Heat’s first Player of the Week since Dwyane Wade was named Jan. 31 last season, and just the 12th different player in the franchise’s 29 seasons to be so honored. Heat players have now taken the honor a total of 54 times.
Waiters, who had not previously won the weekly honor over his first five NBA seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, took a low-key approach to the moment.
“I’m laid back,” he said. “At the end of the day, when you put the work in, you trust those things.”
The 11 previous Heat players to be named NBA Player of the Week were Rony Seikaly, Glen Rice, Chris Gatling, Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Eddie Jones, Wade, Lamar Odom, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and LeBron James.
Included in Waiters’ performance over the judging period was a game-winning 3-pointer against the Warriors and then a decisive late 3-pointer two nights later in Brooklyn. Over the course of the four-game judging period, Waiters averaged 23.3 points (tied for eighth in the East), 5.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds, connecting on 12 of 25 3-point attempts.
“We don’t take that kind of news for granted, even in a year like this,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We want our players to get better. We want them to push and be open-minded, to become something different. And he’s really been working at it, working on trying to be more efficient, working on how to make more winning plays, learning how to finish better at the rim, learning how to ultimately impact winning better.
“So, he played probably his most efficient basketball during that stretch, obviously the big shots at the end of a couple of the game. But it was efficient basketball. He was making positive plays for the team on both ends. And you don’t get these kind of rewards if you don’t go 4-0. They’re not given them to teams that are 0-4 for the week.”
Waiters said he appreciated the significance of the winning portion of the equation.
“Of course, winning solves everything,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get that award if it wasn’t for my teammates and the coaching staff and everybody believing in me and giving me the opportunity. I think the most important thing about that is that we were winning during that stretch.”
Since James left as a free agent in the 2014 offseason, the Heat have not had an NBA Player of the Month and only four times have had a Player of the Week, with Bosh named on Nov. 2, 2014, Wade on March 22, 2015 and then last season, and now Waiters.
Teams nominate players for the designation, with the Heat pushing both Waiters and Goran Dragic, with the Heat going 4-0 over the judging period, with victories over the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.
Guard heavy
With Tyler Johnson returning from his shoulder injury, it leaves the Heat with considerable depth in the backcourt, even with the ongoing absence of
Josh Richardson due to a sprained left foot.
“Bring it on, please. Let’s go,” Spoelstra said of having to sort out the minutes between Dragic, Waiters, Johnson and Wayne
Ellington. “That’s my job. Thank God.”