GETTING WARMER
Heat starting to gain momentum after win over Mavericks, some positives on road trip
DALLAS — The Miami Heat head into All-Star weekend carrying some momentum, and not just because they won Wednesday night’s final game before the break against the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite three losses sandwiched between two wins — in Portland and Dallas — on the five-game West Coast road trip, the Heat feel they’re showing signs of improvement, even in the defeats.
“It's hard to even feel we only got two [wins] out of this road trip because it feels like we played much better basketball than that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Following the week off for the All-Star break, the Heat are back on the road next Thursday at Philadelphia — the Heat’s sixth straight road game — against the upgraded 76ers, who recently acquired Tobias Harris from the Clippers.
The Heat, who haven’t had a home game since Feb. 2, finally return to AmericanAirlines Arena on Feb. 23 against the Detroit Pistons, who the Heat are tied with for the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed at 26-30.
The Heat started their five-game road trip with a convincing victory in Portland against the Trail Blazers. They then played three strong quarters in Sacramento before blowing a big lead to the Kings. The Heat also played tough against the twotime defending champion Golden State Warriors before losing on a controversial play to end the game. The loss in Denver to the Nuggets on the second night of a backto-back set, losing an hour traveling west to east and playing in altitude, would have been tough for any team.
“I think we should’ve been 4-1 on this road trip, for sure,” said guard Dion Waiters. “Denver is one of them tough situations. You can’t breathe over there. Throughout these five games that we had, we got better each game. We gave ourselves a chance to win, you only keep getting better and keep moving forward from here.”
The Heat have shown the many ways they can pull out a win. It can be center Hassan Whiteside’s dominance inside, like in Portland. It can be Waiters, looking as good as he has been since his return from ankle surgery, along with Josh Richardson to serve as a fierce starting wing combination. While not to always be relied on like he once was, Miami also can find a vintage performance from 37-year-old Dwyane Wade to carry the team.
“We moved forward. That’s what you want to continue to do,” Spoelstra said. “We had some disappointing moments in January, but we were able to gather ourselves on this road trip. It’s not that there are moral victories. You just want to see progress. That’s the most important thing. Are guys improving? Is your team improving?”
With trading guards Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington to the Phoenix Suns for forward Ryan Anderson early on the trip, the constant rotation struggles for Spoelstra have seemed to settle. The Heat have a more clearly defined nineman rotation, and along with Waiters’ insertion into the starting lineup, Spoelstra likes how Kelly Olynyk has played starting at power forward alongside Whiteside, while James Johnson comes off the bench.
“For whatever reason right now, the dynamics with both groups are good,” Spoelstra said. “We just want to get 48 minutes of great basketball from the fours, from the fives, each position. … Our frontcourt was very good on this road trip.”
Justise Winslow, running the point with the first unit, sees how the lineup changes have meshed.
“Guys really started to figure out how to play with each other,” he said. “Dion being inserted into the starting lineup has been good for us. We have to keep it going. The playoff race is open for us.”
Winslow got philosophical describing how wrapping up the road trip with a win helps the Heat following the break.
“This whole world is about energy and the league is about the energy,” Winslow said. “So if we’re going into the break feeling good about ourselves and with a positive mindset, feeling encouraged and motivated to continue to get better, then that’ll help us get things going in the right direction.”
But as Winslow and the new starting five build chemistry, now the question becomes how will the dynamic of working Goran Dragic — who is set to return from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee — back into the lineup coincide with Winslow’s play at point guard?
Spoelstra said Wednesday that he had no timetable for his return, but Dragic is expected back after the AllStar break.