Goran Dragic is simply breathing fire for the Miami Heat

Goran Dragic has been at his scintillating best as the Miami Heat have kicked off their postseason run in fine style in the bubble.

He was almost gone from the team last summer. But through the opening three games of the 2020 NBA Playoffs, Goran Dragic has proven to be irreplaceable for the Miami Heat as they take a 3-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers.

Replacing Kendrick Nunn in the starting backcourt only when Nunn left the bubble for personal reasons, Dragic has never looked back. Through the opening three games, Dragic has averaged 22.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 33.0 minutes per game. Crucially, it’s been his 47.8 percent shooting clip from 3-point range on 7.7 attempts per game that has guided the Heat down the stretch of each game. This is some turnaround for a player who was incredibly close to being dealt away last year as part of the efforts to acquire Jimmy Butler.

Following the Heat’s 124-115 Game 3 win over the Pacers, Dragic explained his approach entering the contest:

"“I was just aggressive, I knew this third game was going to be probably the most important in the series.”"

Through the opening two games of the series, Dragic had averaged 18.5 points per game on 62.5 percent shooting after the main break, thus saving his best for the business end of the game. However, this completely turned in Game 3, with Dragic posting 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range as the Heat nailed 11 triples on the way to a commanding 74-56 halftime lead.

While he shot a respectable 36.7 percent from long range through the regular season, there was a noticeable difference in Dragic’s conversion rate when given ample rest, as the following numbers illustrate:

Dragic 3-point shooting ’19-20 season:

• 0 Days Rest: 28.3 percent (10 games)
• 1+ days rest: 38.2 percent (49 games)

In addition to his blistering shooting in the bubble, Dragic has proven to be serviceable at the defensive end of the floor. He’s leading all Heat starters with a 102.0 defensive rating so far in these playoffs. Furthermore, Dragic’s 102.0 defensive rating ranks sixth overall this postseason among the 33 players in the league classified as a guard who have averaged at least 30 postseason minutes per game.

And while he has still been targeted regularly by the Pacers’ starting backcourt of Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon, Dragic has held his direct opponent to 12-of-28 shooting overall from the field over the course of the series, per NBA Stats.

Overall it’s been Dragic’s proficiency from long range that has truly stood thus far against the Pacers. Per NBA Stats, Dragic has thus far recorded an astounding 102.9 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot opportunities. This features hitting on 11-of-16 from 3-point range in catch-and-shoot situations.

The other standout area in which Dragic has flourished on offense has been his in-between game. Over the regular season, Dragic converted at a subpar 34.4 percent clip between 5-14 feet from the rim. But while it’s only early days, Dragic is shooting at a 60.0 percent clip in this range through the first three games, with his floaters and pull-ups a feature in the early going.

Moving forward, it’s going to be fascinating to see how Dragic responds to the increased workload. Averaging an extra five minutes per game over the regular is no small feat for anyone, especially a 34-year-old in their 12th year in the league. But given his returns and that of the starting five, the Miami Heat and Goran Dragic can be nothing but delighted with the early returns.