Have These Miami Heat Wins Been Flukes?
One has to wonder whether the wins that the Miami Heat have gotten in the past few days have been flukes or good victories. The biggest reason why it would be considered a fluke is because the wins came from the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic, and shortly before that it was to the New York Knicks. These aren’t teams that one would necessarily celebrate afterwards.
To be fair, Orlando beat Miami the game that they played before this past one. Miami was not the same team however. The team has undergone a transformation as of late, acquiring two Dragic’s, and picking up Hassan Whiteside and Henry Walker in free agency.
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The play of Whiteside has been a complete surprise for those who just wanted someone to come in and relieve Chris Andersen of his duties of playing more than 30 minutes per game. Miami got much more than it bargained for. That culminated in an effort that Whiteside produced against the Chicago Bulls, when he got a triple-double including double digits in blocked shots.
Ever since then, he has been more of the focal point for Miami.
Henry Walker has been another surprise. He has only played two games, which seems premature when trying to label him a success or failure, but the Heat, the team won the first two games after he arrived. In the first game, he scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. In the second game, he scored 10 points but shot very poorly.
However, at the end of regulation in the second game he hit a three-point shot that sent the game into overtime, where Miami was able to pull out the win.
These have been two surprising pickups because they have been exactly what we have needed in just the right time. Walker is a big body, able to defend bigger bodies, and being sort of a “power shooter” in the league. Being nearly 240 pounds, he can bang with bigger bodies, and step out and shoot, which was a role that Chris Bosh had before he went out with a blood clot.
Getting someone who can fill that role and stretch the floor effectively was going to be key for Miami, and they were able to get it done.
These players have especially been needed as Goran Dragic finds his place on the team. It can be tough for a player like that to get his footing while playing for a team that has Dwyane Wade on it. But it seems to me that Wade has pushed him to be the best version of what he can be, trying to make Dragic create the way he knows he can, which is a valuable leadership trait that Wade has.
Even during his struggle, Dragic is averaging 14 points and five assists, which is a significant upgrade from what Miami had before with three point guards. Now, Wade and Mario Chalmers can come in a worry about scoring the way they wanted to when the season began, and Shabazz Napier has the confidence to be more aggressive now that Norris Cole is no longer there.
These wins aren’t flukes, they are a result of a team that has gotten a lot better.