Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
McGruder seizing opportunity
Forward has found practicing patience to be a key element
MIAMI – The Miami Heat did not necessarily prioritize Rodney McGruder when it came to the jettisoning of Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson at the NBA trade deadline.
Luxury tax, salary cap, the remainder of the rotation all eclipsed any single remaining component.
And yet, before that trade, McGruder had been held out of four of the previous seven games. Since then, he has appeared in every game but one, including playing 27 minutes in Wednesday’s playoff-race victory over the Charlotte Hornets, when he contributed a critical late 3-pointer.
“I just appreciate Coach trusting in me and my teammates doing a great job of just keeping me up,” McGruder said of the down times before this recent uptick in playing time. “I don’t expect anything, just prepare yourself for anything. I had no expectations, just trying to stay ready.”
McGruder long has been a favorite of coach Erik Spoelstra, which could be particularly helpful this offseason, when McGruder will be a free agent.
“He really looks a lot more like the Rodney McGruder when he was healthy at the beginning of the year,” Spoelstra said. “He’s been playing well for two or three weeks, and really making an impression and making an impact for us in a positive way.”
McGruder said remaining ready was a lesson taken from tri-captain Udonis Haslem.
“A guy like UD, a veteran who’s been around and been through similar situations, he’s just keeping me in high spirits and keeping me on the right path,” he said.
Playoff race:
To Dwyane Wade, what matters most at the moment for the Heat is the playoff race, not the Heat’s middling 30-34 record.
“Well, obviously the goal for the playoffs is the top eight,” he said. “But for us, we just want to keep playing well down the stretch. If we continue to keep playing well, then we’ll get there.
“We don’t want to just have the mentality that we need to get to eight. We’re not that far. From six, to 11, 12, whatever, it’s all tight.”
He said this run of four victories in the last five games going into Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at AmericanAirlines Arena is what matters most.
“Let’s just continue to play well,” he said, “continue to impose our will on these games the way we have the last four or five and
we’ll be all right.”
Quick work:
In closing with 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in playing 20:14 in Charlotte, Heat center Hassan Whiteside became just the second NBA player to reach those thresholds in such limited playing time.
The only other player to do so was Herb Williams for the Indiana Pacers against the Utah Jazz on March 25, 1983, when he closed with 19 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 13 minutes. Unlike Whiteside, who played off the bench Wednesday, Williams’ numbers came as a starter.
“When you’re coming off the bench, you can read the game a little better, because you can see who’s hot, what the other team’s scheme is,” Whiteside said. “The only thing is you can’t come out with the sweat you have in the layup line. So it’s got its advantages and disadvantages.”
Jersey exchange:
Wade’s latest jersey exchange was with Hornets guard Kemba Walker, with the inscription, “I love your heart. Keep going.”
Said Walker, “D-Wade is an unbelievable player. I had a chance to play against him in two playoff series. He’s been a special player for years in this league. This is his last one here and for me to swap jerseys is an honor for me.’’
The Heat have one remaining game against the Hornets, March 17 at AmericanAirlines Arena.