The form of Goran Dragic a concern for the Miami Heat

Following a sensational start, Goran Dragic’s recent struggles have embodied the Miami Heat as a whole.

It’s been a funny few weeks for Miami Heat point guard Goran Dragic.

It commenced with the Slovenian native being named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 20-26 by averaging 23.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from 3-point range. Over this three-game stretch, the Heat recorded a perfect 3-0 record, with Dragic overall being a +22 while on the court.

However much like the majority of his teammates, Dragic has struggled mightily ever since. Over the ensuing five games, Dragic has averaged just 9.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game. Notably, he has shot just 34.0 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from longrange.

With their starting point guard performing well below his capabilities, it comes as no surprise that the Heat have recorded just a 1-4 record during this stretch. Just as alarming as Dragic’s basic numbers was the difference in the Heat’s performance when he was on and off the floor during this latest five-game span:

• Offensive rating (Dragic on court): 92.3
• Offensive rating (Dragic off court): 109.5
• Defensive rating (Dragic on court): 127.3
• Defensive rating (Dragic off court): 101.3

In essence, the Heat were a staggering 43.2 points per 100 possessions better off when Dragic was off the floor. Furthermore, the 31-year-old overall was a -93 when taking to the court over these five games.

Defensively, this has been by far the worst of Dragic’s career, thus far recording a defensive rating of 108.3 over 24 games. But the difference over these past five games as to when he is on and off the floor has been worrying to say the least.

In the Heat’s most recent game, a 117-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the following clips highlight a couple of possessions early in the game, whereby 35-year-old Spurs veteran Tony Parker simply steams past Dragic to score.

With the Heat missing the interior presence of center Hassan Whiteside over the past couple of weeks, these lapses by Dragic are only going to hurt team further with the lack of a genuine rim protector to thwart such attempts.

On the offensive end, Dragic has maintained his stance as one of the more attacking guards in the league, ranking 10th in the league in drives per game through the first 23 games of the season. But his lack of opportunities in getting to the free throw line from such forays was never more evident than during this five-game stretch, when Dragic averaged just 3.0 trips to the line per game.

Recently, head coach Erik Spoelstra made a spirited defense of Dragic in reference to his failure to grab the attention of the referees when heading to the rim:

"“Now, Goran gets more adjustments and hits at the rim than any player that comes to mind, and he rarely gets that call.”"

Additionally, Miami columnist Josh Baumgard tweeted the following, albeit in a more joking manner, in regards to the lack of whistles afforded to Dragic:

Nonetheless, while Dragic’s struggles on the offensive end are likely to subside very swiftly, it’s his lack of presence on the defensive end of the floor that has hurt the Heat the most this season.

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Given the abundance of elite point guards in the league at present, it will be imperative moving forward that Dragic elevates his game at this end of the floor. Because if not, a repeat of the efforts highlighted against the Spurs will become an all too regular occurrence for the Heat.