Miami Heat: 5 goals for guard Dion Waiters in 2017-18

Having been rewarded by the Miami Heat with a four-year contract, here are five goals in 2017-18 for explosive guard Dion Waiters.

Despite playing just 46 games in his first season with the Miami Heat, Dion Waiters certainly made an impression.

His second half surge in form coincided with the Heat flipping their 11-30 start to the season to finish the year on a 30-11, just the missing out on the playoffs in the process.

Over the season, Waiters averaged 15.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He ramped this up to 18.7 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds over the final 18 games of his season, which included hitting at a sensational 45.0 percent clip from 3-point range on 5.7 attempts per game.

Known in the past as a selfish, shoot-first gunner, Waiters’ playmaking abilities were almost the most notable transformation in his game last season. Overall, Waiters ranked sixth in league averaging 11.0 drives per game. He was able to put this good use, with his 4.3 assists per game being a career high by far. As a result, Waiters had eight games in which he dished out eight or more assists. The Heat posted a 7-1 record during these games.

Another noticeable change in Waiters last season was his physical transformation. Upon signing with the Heat in the summer of 2016, Waiters weighed in at 234 pounds along with 10 percent body fat. By midseason, these numbers had dropped to 222 pounds and 7.5 percent body fat. The results speak for themselves, as Waiters explained:

"“That’s one thing they preach over here, just get in the best shape of your life. As you can see with some of the guys coming in including myself, just getting your body right. It showed with the performance on the court.”"

Armed with a new four-year contract, and hence the complete backing of the coaching staff and front office, the 25-year-old is seemingly on the cusp of something special. With this in mind, here are five goals for Waiters this upcoming season.