Johnson upbeat over his rehab
LOS ANGELES — Goran Dragic took his germs west, just as Justise Winslow had his sore right knee in tow. Yet of those boarding the Miami Heat team flight to Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, themost intriguing health issue could by Tyler Johnson.
Out since February shoulder surgery, Johnson confirmed he has resumed shooting with his left arm and even has tested it beyond the current boundaries established by the team trainers. The goal remains to return before the April 13 close of the regular season.
“So far it hasn’t been out too far, mostly mid-range, about 15 feet,” he said of his shooting drills. “But it feels pretty good.”
Johnson said the next steps are in his hands.
“Just when it feels comfortable,” he said. “I mean I shot one out there; it didn’t feel very good. I did it just to see what it felt, like but it didn’t fell all that good.”
Johnson initially was given a three-month timetable for his rehabilitation, but has been drilling now for more than a month, although he only recently began shooting with his left hand.
It is why he has hopes of being back in the rotation for the playoffs.
“I mean, I didn’t think I would be shooting right now,” he said. “But within a couple of days, just going through that motion of getting shots up, it’s all good.”
As for Winslow, he downplayed his tumble late in Monday night’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets that sent him to the locker room.
“I wasn’t too worried about it because it was a feeling I kind of knew before,” he said, having previously dealt with tendinitis in the knee. “It’s nothing too bad. I kind of bumped knees a little bit, but nothing major. I should be ready to go.”
Dragic missed Monday’s victory due to illness.
Tough times
The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Heat on Wednesday night coming off Monday night’s 123-75 road loss to the Utah Jazz, which matched the largest margin of defeat in franchise history.
In the wake of that loss, former Lakers guard Magic Johnson posted on Twitter: “The loss to Utah was bad because the Lakers didn’t put up a fight, hustle and it looked like they were out there going through the motions. I thought last season was bad because it was the worst in Lakers history. It looks like this season will be the worst in Lakers history.
The only good thing about this Lakers season is that we get a chance to say goodbye to Laker Great and Future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant!”
Bryant shot 1 of 11 from the field in the loss for five points.
The Lakers need to win seven of their final eight to avoid matching the worst finish in franchise history, last season’s 21-61 record.
Ballot cast
Heat guard Dwyane Wade said not only should the presidential primaries be over but also the media general election when it comes to NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Wade said Heat center Hassan Whiteside is the logical choice.
“That Defensive Player of the Year conversation needs to be had,” Wade said. “His impact on the game is that big and that good. I am happy for the way he is getting better and better with his maturity and obviously his basketball game and his talents are really going to another level.
“His maturity has really taken him to another level. In my eyes, and looking around the league, he is Defensive Player of the Year and I think that conversation needs to start happening.”
Whiteside’s 15-point fourth quarter Monday against the Nets was the highest-scoring quarter of his career. The only Heat player to score more in a quarter this season was guard Josh Richardson, with 16 in the fourth quarter on March 11 against the Chicago Bulls.