Miami Heat: Goran Dragic having a playoff run for the ages

Goran Dragic has continued his exemplary NBA playoff form as the Miami Heat take a 2-0 Conference Finals lead over the Boston Celtics.

The current NBA playoff run of Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat has been both spectacular and unexpected.

When Miami and the rest of the league entered the untimely hiatus in March, the Heat had just squandered a 20-point lead on their way to a home loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Fast forward six months, and the franchise is just two wins away from their sixth trip to the NBA Finals.

And the play of Dragic has been one of the absolute key reasons for this incredible run.

Despite coming off the bench virtually all season, Dragic’s play in the bubble has arguably been amongst the best in the league. In his latest performance, Dragic posted 29 points, his highest output of the postseason and the eighth time in 11 games in which he has passed the 20-point mark.

Following the 106-101 Game 2 win over the Boston Celtics, Jimmy Butler was full of praise for his teammate:

"“That’s my guy….I’m glad that he’s on my team, he’s so smart, doesn’t care about stats, just wants to win. I think everybody overlooks that, but he’s huge and he has been all year….he’s our leader.”"

Overall, its been Dragic’s consistency that has shown out through this incredible postseason run. In addition to ranking third overall in plus/minus with a plus-104 through 11 games, Dragic is also a plus-45 in 33 clutch minutes, which leads all players in the playoffs. Importantly, Dragic’s play in the clutch was crucial in the Game 2 win over the Celtics.

Crawling their way back from a 17-point deficit, the Heat outscored the Celtics 17-6 over the final five minutes after giving up their lead early in the fourth quarter. Of course, leading the way was Dragic, scoring seven points including an enormous step-back three to put the Heat ahead 104-98 with just 58 seconds remaining in the game.

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1306767858559602688?s=20

From an historical point of view, Dragic’s output has been phenomenal. Through the opening 11 games of a playoff campaign, the following players in addition to Dragic are the only players in NBA history to average at least 22.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 3-pointers and 1.0 steals per game:

• Stephen Curry
• James Harden
• Kevin Durant

In particular, Dragic’s efficiency has been a standout. Shooting at a 47.7 percent clip from the field and 39.5 percent from three, Dragic’s ability to create his own shot and score in a variety of ways is extremely suited to the hustle of playoff basketball.

While it seems an eternity ago, the fact that the Heat were incredibly close to dealing Dragic prior to the season in order to facilitate the trade to acquire Butler seems extraordinary. It’s even more unfathomable when you consider the incredible bond that Dragic and Butler have formed over the course of the past 12 months.

So with the Miami Heat just two wins away from what most observers consider one of the more unlikely trips to the Finals, Goran Dragic is truly a man on a mission.