Waiters back in lineup, retains scoring touch
MIAMI — The Heat’s starting backcourt is whole again.
G u a r d D i o n Wa i t e r s returned Monday against the Magic after missing the past three games because of a sprained left ankle. Wayne Elling ton st ar ted next to point guard Goran Dragic during Waiters’ absence.
Waiters was injured in the third quarter of a win over Minnesota a week ago Monday.
Waiters, 25, picked up where he left off in leading the Heat with 23 points against the Magic. He averaged 20.6 points on 49.7 percent shooting to go with 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists in playing the first 11 games of the Heat’s 13-game winning streak.
Miami also could get guard Josh Richardson back soon. Richardson, who has been out since Jan. 6 with a left foot sprain, has started taking part in contact drills and went t h ro u g h Monday ’s shoot-around.
Coach Erik Spoelstra said Richardson is getting “very close” to a return. The hope is that he will practice today before traveling with the team to Houston for Wednesday’s game.
“Even if he doesn’t play, he’ll be able to train with us,” Spoelstra said when asked if Richardson would make the trip.
When Richardson does return, the Heat will lose the NBA roster exception that allowed them to sign Okaro White to two 10-day contracts and sign Marcus Georges-Hunt last week.
As for Justise Winslow, he’s still in a sling as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The original timetable called for Winslow to wear a sling for six weeks.
With Thursday marking six weeks since Winslow had surgery, Spoelstra said he expects the 20-year-old to begin rehab work next week after the All-Star break. Winslow is still expected to miss the rest of the season.
Wade still thinks of Heat: Just because Dwyane Wade left the Heat doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about the organization with which he spent 13 seasons.
I n f ac t , Wade s t i l l get s mixed up when he looks at the schedule.
“There are times ... if I look at the schedule and I see the Heat playing someone, like if it says the Heat vs. Denver, I’m like, ‘Dang, we go to Denver.’ It’s in my mind — 13 years,” Wade said during an appearance on The Vertical podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski.
“I remember I just asked my son recently, I was trying to tell him to go into the room and grab my Bulls shorts. But what I said was, ‘Hey, go grab my Heat shorts.’”
Even after a breakdown in communication with Heat President Pat Riley led Wade to leave Miami for Chicago, the 12-time All-Star made it clear he still cares about the Heat organization.
“I look back at those 13 years and I just smile,” Wade said. “It’s hard to reflec t while you’re in it. But now that I’m out of those 13 years with the organization, I look back. I think people think that I want the Heat to do bad or people probably think that ‘Oh, he still follows the Heat?’ Yes, I follow the Heat. I watch all their games.
“I’m checking up on them because at the end of the day, it’s always going to be a part of me. Their organization is always going to be my organization in some form and some way because of what I was able to accomplish there and where my career stands. I want nothing but success for them.”
And Wade has enjoyed watching Spoelstra lead the Heat back into the playoff race thanks to the 13-game winning streak that ended Saturday in Philadelphia.
After the Heat defeated the Bulls in Chicago on Jan. 27 to grab their sixth victory of the streak, Wade said he caught up with Spoelstra.
“The last time we played — for the third time — after the game we had a moment where we kind of sat down and talked,” Wade said. “I was really telling him how p ro u d I was o f h i m a s a coach.
“I thought last year our relationship was probably at the highest it’s ever been. And it doesn’t change. We still text each other. There’s times he sends me pictures of him and the staff. They’re my guys. That’s always going to be there. He’s somebody that’s been in my corner and I’ve been in his corner. We’re linked together forever.”