Last Thursday’s trade deadline must have induced a state of euphoria in the Miami Heat front office unequaled since the magical summer of 2010.
Acquiring Goran Dragic (and his little brother, Zoran, whom the Suns brought over from Europe this year) in a three-team trade with Phoenix and New Orleans, the Heat not only gained, arguably, the most talented player of the 38 to change jerseys on deadline day (and a more than adequate solution to their problems at the point guard position), but trading four players (Danny Granger, Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton and Shawne Williams) also freed up to three potential roster spots.
Then, just a day after the deadline, news came that Chris Bosh had checked into a Miami hospital with side and back pain, later diagnosed as blood clots on his lung.
Just like that, the wave of euphoria was gone.
Fortunately, the diagnosis was made early enough that Bosh is expected to make a full recovery, but he’ll have to be on blood thinners for several months, effectively ruling him out of the rest of the 2014-15 season.
Derrick Rose, who will once again require surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee, also looks like he’ll miss the rest of the season, but Chicago has shown it can band together and remain an upper echelon team in the East without Rose. Miami hasn’t played without Bosh for an extended stretch since he signed with them in 2010.
Can the Heat show Bulls-level resolve without their superstar in a crowded race for one of the last two playoff spots in the East?
Fortunately for Dwyane Wade and Co., there are a few factors working in their favour.
The easiest remaining schedule in the East
There are only two and a half games separating the seventh seed (Miami) from the 12th seed (Boston) in the East. The last month-and-a-half of the season, then, promises to be a grind for the six teams vying for those last two playoff spots. Here, Miami appears to have a built-in advantage.
According to NBA.com, Miami has the easiest post-all-star break schedule in the Eastern Conference, including the most remaining home games (17) and only 13 away games. Only five of their remaining contests fall on the second night of a back-to-back, and 12 come against opponents who will be on the second night of a back-to-back.
Looking at the schedules of the other would-be bottom seeds—teams like Charlotte, who still have 17 road games and nine back-to-backs, and Boston with 17 and eight—the HEAT have to capitalize on their relatively easy stretch run if they’re going to hold the seventh seed into mid-April.
Whitesiiiiiiiiiiide
The emergence of Hassan Whiteside as a legit starting centre is one of the best stories of the season thus far. The 25-year-old North Carolina native has bounced around a lot in his young career. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 33rd overall pick in 2010, but—after only a year in college—simply wasn’t ready for the NBA. He split time between the NBA and the D-League for two years before being waived, then spent the next two playing professionally in Lebanon and China. After a brief stint with the Grizzlies earlier this season, Whiteside returned to the D-League until late November, when he signed a two-year, partially guaranteed deal with the Heat.
In the 29 games he’s suited up in South Beach, he’s become something of a sensation.
Whiteside is currently third in the league in blocks per game (2.7), behind only Anthony Davis and Serge Ibaka—two prolific rim protectors. He’s fourth in field-goal percentage (62.8) among players who’ve attempted at least 200 shots. He’s also fifth in PER (27.48) among qualified players. The four above him? Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant—fairly decent company for the big man.
Whiteside has been a little too foul prone, and he’s not much of a threat in the pick-and-roll, but he’s pretty great in post-ups, where he’s shown off a nifty hook shot and doesn’t waste time once he gets the ball. It’d be nice if he could be more of a playmaker out of the post (he has four assists in more than 600 minutes played) as that inability is probably why he doesn’t see more of the offense run through him.
Whiteside proves that the D-League can be an amazing resource for teams that do their due diligence—an arena in which Miami has excelled. Last Saturday, the team signed another fringe NBA journeyman, Henry (formerly Bill) Walker, to a 10-day contract with one of their newly opened roster spots, and last night he drained two three-pointers in crunch time to force overtime against the Magic. The Heat went on to win the game 93-90.
They don’t need to train the Dragon
It can’t be overstated how much of an upgrade Dragic is for the Heat. Now they can bring Mario Chalmers off the bench to manage the second unit, which is a much better role for Alaska’s sexiest man.
Once Wade and Dragic get comfortable together, they’re going to be a lethal backcourt. We got a preview of their combined destructive force in the second half against the Sixers on Monday night, but Miami’s execution in these first three games with Dragic (and without Bosh) has been disjointed. How could it not be, though, given all the change that’s occurred within the organization?
Dragic’s numbers have declined this season from his Most Improved Player and All-NBA Third Team campaign in 2013-14, but he was disgruntled in Phoenix and playing off the ball more than he was comfortable. Wade has been handling the ball a lot these first three games, but he should relinquish some of that duty as Dragic gets more comfortable in the offence.
The Heat are going to have to give the Dragon a mountain of gold to keep him this offseason, when he’s an unrestricted free agent, but they didn’t surrender the assets to bring him in as a rental. It’s a shame we won’t get to see Dragic and Bosh run pick-and-roll/pop until next season, but it goes without saying that the long-term health of the NBA’s most unique superstar is far more important than the outcome of this season. That team doctors caught this before it turned into a potentially life-threatening condition is a huge win.
For now, we get to see if this new version of the Heat can band together on the fly without their superstar, like Chicago, and make a run in the post-season. It’s not going to be easy, but it’ll definitely be interesting.
Get well soon, Bosh!