Miami Heat: Dion Waiters slowly repaying the faith

Over his past two games, Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters has demonstrated just what he has to offer the team moving forward.

Just recently turned 27, Dion Waiters is seemingly entering the absolute prime of his career. However, it’s been an up-and-down return to the court for the former No. 4 overall pick.

Having watched from the sidelines for over 12 months to recover from reconstructive surgery on his left ankle, Waiters has had to somewhat start from scratch as he re-acclimated himself to both the court and his Miami Heat teammates. Furthermore, he had the pressure of living up to the four-year, $50 million contract he signed in the summer of 2017.

Naturally, this time away from the game was bound to show in his early play. Returning to the court against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 2, Waiters has averaged 6.2 points in 14.3 minutes per game on just 36.6 percent shooting from the field in first six games back. However, his performance against the Chicago Bulls on the second night of a back-to-back could certainly prove to be the turning point of Waiters’ return to action.

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Not hitting the floor until the second quarter, Waiters was in attack mode from the moment he hit the court, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting to guide the Heat to a two-point lead at the break. He repeated this in the final frame, eventually finishing with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. In. particular, it was Waiters’ ability to attack the paint and get to the basket that was most notable, helping guide the Heat to the 117-103 win.

In all, Waiters short a perfect 6-of-6 on his seven recorded drives to the rim, thus providing the Heat with a real point of difference in his role coming off the bench. Following the game, head coach Erik Spoelstra made mention of Waiters’ crucial role in the second unit:

"“For guys that are working their way back in, such as Dion, it’s not easy. Your minutes aren’t guaranteed, you have to leave an impression during the games, and that’s what he did tonight. I thought he competed, he played hard, he played to the game plan and that’s all you can control, and he made his minutes memorable.”"

Next up were the Boston Celtics, whom the Heat defeated 115-99 in the first matchup for the season on Jan. 8. In this contest, Waiters was the fifth player up off the Heat bench, but that didn’t diminish his desire to make a difference. In 26 impactful minutes, Waiters posted 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, as the Heat’s second unit outscored the starters 66-33.

Like the Bulls game, Waiters was at his most dangerous the attacking the paint, nailing 5-of-6 shots within five feet of the rim on his way to posting a team-high +21 while on the floor.

Over the past two games, the Heat were 37.1 points per 100 possessions better off when Waiters was on the floor. Impressively, he shot a perfect 9-of-9 from within the restricted area, and 10-of-11 overall from within five feet of the rim during this time. Furthermore, despite starting significantly behind the eight ball, Waiters now comfortably leads all players on the Heat roster with a +7.0 net rating.

Following these performances, it will be interesting to follow Waiters’ role with the team moving forward. With the starting lineup having struggled significantly in recent times, there’s every chance Waiters breaks into the starting five in the near future. Until then, the Heat will be hoping he can bring the same level of effort and energy that he’s exhibited over the past two games.