Short memory works for Waiters
Guard bounces back from shutout with clutch performance.
If Dion Waiters truly is one of the best closers in the game which the metrics sug
— gest then why not start act— ing like a true closer?
They say a baseball closer’s best friend (besides a 100-mph fastball) is short-term memory. That is exactly what Waiters had after his worst outing as a member of the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Following Waiters’ 26 points in Wednesday’s 104-98 victory that snapped Boston’s 16-game
winning streak, I attempted to ask him about Sunday’s game,
one in which he missed all 10 of his shots and went scoreless for the first time as a member of the Heat during a 120-95 home loss to the Pacers. Before I ended the thought, Waiters interrupted.
“What game? We played Sunday? I don’t remember
that,” he said. “I didn’t know we played. I was watching the Eagles game. I know they won, though.”
Waiters smiled — probably as much about his hometown Eagles’ 9-1 record.
Waiters was solely responsible late for stopping a slide that could have led to another disheartening loss. After Miami built an 18-point lead in the second quarter and led by 15 with eight minutes remaining, the Heat suddenly found themselves clinging to a one-point lead.
Enter the man coach Erik Spoelstra has determined has “irrational confidence.” In the final three minutes, Waiters clearly wanted the ball in his hands and was not about to give it up.
Exactly what this team, which lacks a go-to, bona fide All-Star, needs.
In a span of 2:20, Waiters scored eight of Miami’s 10 points, making two 3-pointers and streaking down the middle for an emphatic dunk off an inbounds pass from Josh Richardson with 36 seconds remaining to seal the win.
The only points he didn’t score during that stretch came after he missed and Hassan Whiteside followed.
In all, Waiters took six shots during that stretch, making three.
“Never a doubt in my mind,” tri-captain James Johnson said when asked about Waiters taking over. “He’s one of the best closers I’ve ever played with or against.
Waiters was asked if crunch time is becoming Waiters Time and thought of it as a rhetorical question.
“Ya’ll ask me just to get a reaction,” he said, smiling. “Ya’ll know what I’m going to say. You know what time it is, man. Philly Cheese.”
Each basket belongs on a highlight reel:
■ The first 3-pointer, over Jayson Tatum, hit the side of the rim, bounced high in the air, caught the top of the backboard and somehow fell through.
“He’s living good,” Johnson said. “That’s what you always say when you get those kind of rolls.”
■ Then, 42 seconds later, Waiters stepped back on Al Horford and swished a 3-pointer from in front of the Heat bench. The key to the play, according to Waiters, was keeping his dribble against the big man.
“Coach gets mad at me a lot because normally I jump in the air to try and do something,” he said. “He always gets on me, ‘Keep your dribble, keep your dribble. Worst-case scenario, the big is going to have to stay on you and then stretch back out.’
“It was so crazy I was about to really jump in the air and try to make a pass. I’m like, ‘Man, keep your dribble.’ Telling myself in my head, ‘Keep your dribble. See what happens.’”
■ With 36 seconds to play and the Heat taking the ball out from under the basket, Waiters flew past Kyrie Irving and received a perfect pass from Richardson for the two-hand dunk.
Three examples — to go along with a handful last season, including clutch 3-pointers against Golden State, Brooklyn and Cleveland — illustrating why Waiters is option No. 1 when the game is on the line.
And should be.
Just one-tenth of a point separates Waiters from Irving and LeBron James for the best clutch players (last five minutes in which point differential is five points or less) in the league. Irving and James are averaging 5.4 points and Waiters is at 5.3. Waiters’ field-goal percentage is .593 (16 of 27) in those situations, also third behind James (.656) and Irving (.615) among players who have attempted more than 15 shots.
Spoelstra, though, was more pleased with Waiters’ decision-making than his late-game heroics. The Heat have tried to harness Waiters after his turnovers reached a career high. Waiters gave the ball away 19 times during a recent four-game stretch, boost- ing his turnovers to 3.3 a game.
In the past three games, that number is four, including one in 36 minutes against Boston.
“He has great confidence,” Spoelstra said. “It’s about learning better decision-making and responsibility with the ball during the course of the game, to make plays for our team. And I thought he was reading the defense better, being more aggressive and patient and persistent, getting to what we wanted to get to, rather than just bailing out on those shots.
“I thought this was one of his better games throughout.”
The challenge now — for the team, as well as Waiters — is to sustain this momentum and develop consistency. In the past four games, Miami has lost to Washington at home, beaten the Wizards on the road, was embarrassed by Indiana at home and defeated the team with the best record in the league.
Next up is a four-game road trip starting tonight in Minnesota. The trip includes three teams (Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Knicks) with winning records.
“We need to forget this game,” said Goran Dragic, who led the Heat with 27 points. “It’s not like that we won 10 straight. It’s only one game. The history shows we have a good win and then we have the worst game possible. We just need to have the same desire, the same stuff we did (against Boston).”