J.Johnson, Dragic deal with pain
Whiteside continues treatment on knee, conditioning before returning.
MIAMI — Wayne Ellington had two words for Goran Dragic and James Johnson following Saturday’s game against New Orleans.
“I told both of them, ‘Thank you,’” the Heat guard said.
Two of the Miami Heat tri-captains shook off the
pain to return for Saturday’s game against New
Orleans. Both were in discomfort, Dragic from his strained left (shooting) elbow and Johnson from the bursitis in his right ankle.
“I appreciate it because they’re still going through some pain,” Ellington said. “They wanted to be there for the team tonight. They sacrificed. That’s huge for us. Obviously, they’re not themselves yet. Them just giving that effort to come out there means everything for us.”
The feeling in the Heat locker room after their
MIAMI — Even after Saturday’s 15-point loss to New Orleans, coach Erik Spoelstra is pleased with where his Heat stand.
“I still think there’s some really good things going on with our team, despite the injuries, despite some of the adversity we’re going through,” Spoelstra said. “I like the direction we’re going. We’ll just have to gather ourselves, get some rest, hopefully get some healthy bodies back for the Orlando game (on Tuesday). And if we don’t, we have enough.”
The Heat are 17-16 through accounted for 18 of those 33 games this season, and games with two different have won six of their past bone bruises on his left knee. nine games. Now, starting shooting guard
Here’s why Miami is opti- Dion Waiters is out indefi- mistic about the road ahead: nitely after spraining his left
■ The schedule: Miami ankle in Friday’s win over has survived a challenging the Mavericks. Despite all of schedule. Eighteen of the that, Miami finds itself one Heat’s first 33 games were on game above .500. And the the road, and they’ve already good thing is the Heat are getbeen through a 24-game ting healthier. Goran Dragic stretch with 17 on the road. (sore left elbow) and James Miami has already finished Johnson (right ankle bursi- its season series with top tis) returned from injury in teams like the Golden State Saturday’s loss to the Peli- Warriors, San Antonio Spurs cans, and the hope is that and Boston Celtics. With that Justise Winslow (strained left out of the way, the Heat are knee) and Whiteside will be now in the middle of a more back this week. favorable part of their sched■ Bam is better than ule. Five of Miami’s next six advertised: Yes, there were games come at home and high expectations surroundfour of the next six games ing rookie center Bam Adeare against teams with los- bayo entering the season. But ing records. not many expected this. Ade
■ Shorthanded Heat: bayo is averaging 8.5 points, All of the injuries have been 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists frustrating for the Heat, but in 12 December games with the way they’ve handled it Whiteside out. The most has been encouraging. Eight impressive thing has been Heat players have already the 20-year-old’s consistent combined to miss 88 games improvement. Spoelstra has because of injury or illness already referred to Adebayo this season. Starting cenas a “sponge” and “com- ter Hassan Whiteside has puter” because of his ability 109-94 loss to the Pelicans was Dragic and Johnson were on the floor because the team needed them. Losing Dion Waiters, who re-sprained his problematic left ankle 24 hours prior, added to the long list of injured players.
And the comments appear to speak loudly about one of those players who was not in uniform.
Here are what Dragic and Johnson said about returning before they are 100 percent:
“I talked to the doc and the pain is there,” Dragic said. “It’s not the first time I’m playing through the pain. I’m going to try to be there for my teammates and try to do what I can and that’s it.”
Johnson added, “If you ask any of the guys that there’s a lot of lingering discom- fort, pain around this team. So it’s take it however your threshold of pain can last.”
Contrast that to what Hassan Whiteside said the day it was announced he has another bone bruise on his left knee: to take in information and son, Richardson ranks sec“Just wait until it’s totally apply it on the court. He’s ond in field-goal percentage healed,” he said. already impressed defen- defense against the player “I think I kind of rushed sively against All-Star big men he’s guarding, behind only it before, so just wait until such as Charlotte’s Dwight Boston’s Jaylen Brown. Rich- I’m totally 100 percent. So, I Howard, New Orleans’ twoardson is limiting players don’t want to come back and headed monster of DeMar- he’s defending to 38.1 per- be a watered-down Hassan cus Cousins and Anthony cent shooting (6.6 percent and people looking at you Davis, and even perime- worse than their combined crazy like, ‘What’s wrong ter-oriented All-Star playaverage shooting percentwith Hassan? Why is he not ers like LeBron James and age). It’s becoming clear the playing at this level?’ or what- Stephen Curry. Adebayo has best decision Miami made ever. I don’t even want to shown he’s ready to contribthis past offseason was sign- risk that.” ute as a rookie, something ing the 2015 second-round Whiteside played Nov. 28 the Heat weren’t necessar- pick to a four-year, $42 mil- in Cleveland before sitting ily counting on. lion extension. He is one of out the next night in New
■ The emergence of the Heat’s biggest assets. York because of a sore left J-Rich: Who has been the ■A soft Eastern Conknee. The next day the Heat Heat’s best player in Decemference: The Boston Celt- announced he had suffered ber? Josh Richardson, and ics, Cleveland Cavaliers and a different bruise from the that’s a very encouraging Toronto Raptors have sep- one that forced him to miss development for Miami. arated themselves from the five games early in the season Richardson is averaging rest of the Eastern Confer- but on the same knee and 17.6 points on 54.8 percent ence. But the rest of the he would miss a minimum shooting from the field and standings are bunched up. of one week but it could be 50.9 percent shooting from The Heat entered Monday at least two.
3-point range, to go with in the No. 9 spot, but just The day after that, the 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in two games out of the No. 4 man who signed a $98 mil12 December games. But position. A winning streak lion contract 18 months ago Richardson isn’t just turn- would likely be enough to announced he would not ing into an efficient offen- catapult Miami into the top play until he is completely sive threat, he’s also been half of the conference’s eight pain-free. an elite defender this season. playoff seeds. Coach Erik Spoelstra says Among NBA starting small Whiteside is making “a lot forwards who have played of progress,” since the cenin at least 15 games this sea- ter started working on the
Heat guard
‘It’s not the first time I’m playing through the pain.’
court a week and a half ago. Whiteside is increasing his court work while working out twice a day, one of those strictly on his conditioning. He’s getting close, but not quite 100 percent.
And that’s not to say Whiteside won’t suddenly appear in uniform soon, perhaps even tonight when the Heat return (17-16) from their twoday Christmas break to face the fading Magic (11-23).
Here is what Spoelstra said when asked specifically about Dragic.
“The guys were really grateful for Gora n ,” he said. “It just shows you what kind of warrior he is and the respect that he has in the locker room. Yeah, he felt it a few times, because he’s so aggressive. You can’t go out there and say, ‘Well, I’m going to protect my elbow,’ and then all of a sudden, he’s the Tasmanian Devil on those drives. But he made it through.”
The game was painful, in more ways than one, for Dragic and Johnson. Primarily, the Heat’s brief surge of momentum was halted with the loss. But Dragic acknowledged most of his shots were short, a result of the difficulty he’s having fulling extending his arm. He was 5-of-15 while gutting through 30 minutes. And Johnson played eight minutes before re-aggravating his injury. He did not return, spending the rest of the first half on the bench with his right ankle wrapped in ice and the second half in the locker room receiving treatment.
As soon as Spoelstra saw Johnson start limping, he decided the forward would not return. And Johnson was productive in his short stint, scoring seven points.
“Thankfully, we’ll have a couple of days just to get some treatment and rest,” Spoelstra said.