Dragic return gives Heat a real boost

When Goran Dragic scored a team-high 10 fourth-quarter points in the Miami Heat’s 124-116 victory against the leaguebest Utah Jazz on Friday, there was an even greater appreciation from the team’s leading scorer for what the Slovenian guard brings to the floor.

“Goran does basically the same thing I do,” Jimmy Butler said of Dragic, who scored 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting in the Heat (16-17) win.

“[But he] probably [does it] just a little bit better.”

In Dragic, the Heat have another playmaker who can force opposing defenses to bend when he’s the ballhander in the pick-and-roll, coming off handoffs or dictating the offense.

“He gets everybody easy shots, including myself, and then he’s directing traffic,” Butler said. “It’s really impressive seeing him play basketball.”

Dragic’s performance against the Jazz came two games into his return after he missed nine games over a two-week span due to a sprained left ankle he sustained Feb. 5..

“I feel great,” he said ahead of the Heat’s Sunday matchup against the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I feel confident enough. I just need consistency [and to] try to stay on the floor as much as possible.

“This year’s a little bit crazy. It’s been up and down for me, [but] hopefully now I can stay with the team. When you have consistency, it makes it easier.”

Bam Adebayo, Butler and Dragic — the Heat’s top three scorers from the 2019-20 season and three of the top four this year — were on the floor together for 13% of the Heat’s possessions last regular season, according to Cleaning The Glass, with Miami winning those minutes by 3.3 points per 100 possessions.

There was an uptick in their time on the floor together during the Heat’s playoff run when Dragic stepped into the starting lineup, with Adebayo, Butler and Dragic on the floor for 34% of the Heat’s possessions and the team dominating those minutes with a plus-11.6 point differential.

The Heat have been just as effective this season when Adebayo, Butler and Dragic play together as they were during last year’s regular season, outscoring opponents by 5.6 points per 100 possessions when the trio shares the floor.

But injury and pandemic-related absences have limited their time together to just 5% of the Heat’s possessions.

“It feels like we’re right back from the bubble, but we have to be realistic,” Dragic said. “I don’t know how many games we’ve [Adebayo, Butler and Dragic] played together — it’s not much. Hopefully, we can stay on the floor together.”

And the hope is that continued lineup stability — the Heat have used the same starting lineup for the last 11 games — will help the team climb up an Eastern Conference standings, which was separated by one game between the No. 4 and No. 10 spots as of Saturday afternoon.

“We know what we’re capable of doing, [but] we just need to be more consistent,” Dragic said. “It’s tough to reach that if players are in and out of the lineup. The last 10 games, we’ve really clicked as a team. [Friday] was a great example of what we can do.”