Miami Heat Still Have Chemistry Issues With Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade

The Miami Heat dynamic backcourt duo of Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade has to gain more chemistry if the team is to realize its full potential.

The Miami Heat, on paper, have one of the stronger rosters in the NBA. They have a number of All-Star caliber players, future Hall of Famers and solid role players in the right situations. Despite that, the product on the court has been rather inconsistent for the Heat, owners of an 18-13 record.

Why are they having these struggles? Injuries is one of the problems, as the team’s depth has been stretched a lot this season despite being days past Christmas. The biggest problem, arguably, is that the chemistry is not there between their backcourt, Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade.

Since being acquired from the Phoenix Suns last season at the trade deadline, Dragic has been trying to fit in with the Heat. He was able to do it last season, upping his averages with the Heat to 16.6 points and 5.3 assists after putting up 16.2 and 4.1 with the Suns. Thus far this season, that effectiveness has disappeared, as Dragic has struggled through the first 30 games.

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He has shown flashes of the player that was with the Suns, but he is still struggling to find his role next to Wade in the backcourt. Dragic knows that it is still a work in progress, telling Sports Illustrated:

"“D-Wade is the main guy with this franchise. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer. I don’t even know how many All-Star games he’s been to. You can learn a lot from him. Everything is a work in progress. I’ve never played with this kind of shooting guard. He needs the ball a lot, but we know what he can do. I just need to find my spots. So far, we’ve been communicating well and playing well together.”"

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Dragic is saying the right thing, but it is evident this pairing is not working as well as hoped from the outset. Dragic is used to having the ball in his hands, but Wade is as well, making for a tough dynamic to overcome. Dragic also has to adjust to the change in speed in Miami.

The 95.33 pace he is playing at this season would be the second-lowest mark of his career, higher than only the painstakingly slow 93.43 he had during the 2011-12 season with the Houston Rockets, who played at a 91.7 pace as a team.

The change has seemed to take a toll on Dragic, as his effectiveness has fallen off this season. He is averaging only 11.6 points per game, which would be the lowest per game mark since he became a regular with the Rockets during the 2011-12 season. He is also struggling with his shot, shooting 44.9 percent overall and a woeful 27.7 percent from deep.

Wade is also having his struggles adjusting. Like Dragic, he plays best with the ball in his hands, but there is only one basketball on the court at a time. Wade is having his worst shooting season of his career thus far, making 46.1 percent of his shots.

So what should be made of this thus far in the season? Not even Wade is sure, telling Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post:

"“We’ve had 30 games together and we ain’t figured it out yet. We haven’t played together long enough to figure it out. Either this is gonna be our season or we’re gonna figure it out. Or we’re not. We’re a good team, and if we’re satisfied with being a good team then we’ll keep playing like this throughout the year. If we want to be a great team, we’ll put it together. There’s only one way to find out.”"

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The duo of Dragic and Wade has played 1,286 minutes and 46 seconds together since Dragic was acquired last season, which is less than 27 regulation games. There is obviously still some chemistry issues and kinks to work out, but once those issues are figured out in the backcourt the rest of the team will fall in line as well.