Miami Heat: 3 pivotal storylines post All-Star break

Having struggled mightily entering the All-Star break, here are three key storylines to follow over the final stretch of the season for the Miami Heat.

The annual All-Star break came at an ideal time for the Miami Heat.

Having lost seven of their last eight games prior to the break, the Heat went from fourth to eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-28 record. While their level of play has fluctuated this season, one aspect that has stayed consistent has been their level of injury. The most recent example is Kelly Olynyk, who has been sidelined for the past four games with a shoulder injury.

Over the course of the season, here’s a rundown of the players and the amount of games they’ve missed:

• Rodney McGruder: 58 games
• Dion Waiters: 28 games (sidelined for remainder of the season)
• Hassan Whiteside 19 games
• Justise Winslow: 14 games
• James Johnson: 8 games
• Tyler Johnson: 8 games

With such a regularity of players being sidelined, it’s a credit to head coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff that they’ve been able to hold down the fort and put together enough strong performances for them to be in the hunt come the postseason.

Through 58 games, the highlights for the Heat thus far have been:

• Goran Dragic named to his first All-Star game: Now in his 10th season in the league, Dragic’s ascension into the All-Star ranks has been a tale of consistency and persistence. In 53 games this season, Dragic has averaged 17.4 points, 4.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game. In addition to having 22 games in which he’s scored 20 or more points, Dragic has also twice been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Thus far, only Victor Oladipo, DeMar DeRozan, Joel Embiid, LeBron James and Dragic have received the award twice this season in the East.
• The rise of Bam Adebayo: Taken at No. 14 in the 2017 NBA Draft, Adebayo has well and truly proven to be one of the steals of a loaded draft class. Despite having to contend with the likes of Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson and Olynyk for playing time in the frontcourt, Adebayo has nonetheless managed to carve out a niche for himself in a very short span of time. In 49 games, Adebayo has averaged 7.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. Despite being just 20 and his debut season, Adebayo has managed too displace Whiteside on a number of occasions down the stretch of games, thus already earning the trust of coach Erik Spoelstra.

• Return of Dwyane Wade: Very much a last-minute acquisition due to the complete unravelling of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wade’s return was met with an outpouring of emotion as he returned as a member of the Heat as they faced the Milwaukee Bucks. Having come off the bench in his three games to date, coach Spoelstra is undoubtedly going to tap into all that is left in Wade’s repertoire as the business end of the season approaches.

So with 24 games remaining in the regular season, here are three key storylines to follow as the Heat prepare for a playoff push.