Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Johnson, Waiters explode back on scene just in time
MIAMI — It’s not as if James Johnson and Dion Waiters are exploding on the scene for the first time.
But with the explosion back in their games, the two Miami Heat contributors finally feel as if they have moved past their surgeries.
For Johnson, it was a procedure for a sports hernia last May. For Dion Waiters, ankle surgery in January 2018.
Then came Saturday night’s crucial 113-108 victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena, when Waiters closed with 19 points and Johnson with 13 points and five rebounds.
“I feel explosive these last four games, to be honest,” Johnson said of the Heat’s 3-1 trip. “There are times where I kind of second guess it. Those are the times I’m missing layups or not getting the and-ones like I’m supposed to, or not finishing the and-one. And then, that’s when it just clicks, like, ‘You got it.’
“It felt good to jump. It feels good to be explosive and I don’t feel any pain down there. I’m just going to continue to lift, get strong, do my rehab with Jay Sabol and his training group.”
The veteran forward said it as if it has been a delayed entry back into his game.
“Right now,” he said, “I feel like before the surgery, before the injury and things like that. So now it’s just doing what I didn’t get to do in the offseason, which is work on my game and work on more stuff.”
For Waiters, it has been a matter of timing, including appreciating the requirements of his starting role at shooting guard, knowing that Dwyane Wade is poised to step in off the bench.
“My explosion still is not where I wanted it to be,” Waiters said, with the Heat turning their attention to Tuesday’s playoff-race showdown against the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I still got to work on my body every day. But, most important, man, just being aggressive. I think I’ve got to come out and be aggressive, try to set the tone and get going.
“We’ve got a team where there’s a lot of depth. For me, I’ve got to get going in that first unit. A lot of times before we had D-Wade, then I could ease my way. Because I knew the minutes. I knew when I was coming in and things like that.”
Like Johnson, Waiters appreciates the need to play catch up.
“I’m not where I want to be, nowhere near where I want to be,” he said. “I just control what I can control and that’s just working. I’m just working, man, that’s all. I’m feeling the game out and I’m going to shoot my shots and that’s what I got to do.”
Passing fancy: Having made significant strides with his passing, center Bam Adebayo said among the reasons he finished two assists shy of a tripledouble against the Wizards is because he began to think about it too much.
“I feel the problem was I started knowing that I had it and I got real anxious to pass the ball and I feel like that’s what did me in,” he said after closing with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. “It’s just me being me, just seeing guys that are open, getting guys open shots and doing that.”
He said the passing is nothing new.
“I’ve always had that in my game, seeing somebody open,” he said. “I got doubled a lot in college. You learn the ropes. You learn to find open people. You know how to see through second defenders. And this organization, player-development-wise, they do a great job.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said a recent practice was the perfect example, when Adebayo conjured his inner Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow and Goran Dragic.
“I love watching the pre-practice workouts,” Spoelstra said, “and he’s working on different passes, left hand, right hand.
“It reminded me of 10 days ago. He was up there working with the other bigs and there wasn’t another guard, so he had to be the one making all the passes, all the same passes that J-Rich and Justise and Goran make. But it’s all part of his development and it’s certainly helping our offense.”