5. The Dragic/Whiteside Era
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Possibly the two most talented guys on the team at this point are Goran Dragic and Whiteside. Both are next-level players who will be relied on very heavily in Miami for years to come. An ESPN panel even recently gave them first-time All-Star considerations for the 2016-17 season.
Dragic is entering this season with a clear conscience knowing he will now be the primary ball-handler and playmaker on offense with Wade out of the picture. Plus, with the youth and athleticism of this Heat team, the Heat will finally be able to quicken the pace on offense and get closer to the run-and-gun style of play that perfectly suits Dragic’s game.
Dragic enters training camp fresh off his stint for the Slovenian national team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, where he averaged 17.4 points and a tournament leading 8.4 assists per game. After showing up to training camp out of shape in 2015, the former Phoenix Suns guard says he is now in prime form both physically and mentally.
“I’m ready,” Dragic told the Palm Beach Post this week. “I already felt great at the end of last season. This year I’m in way better shape than last year because I was playing all summer. I’m ready.”
Expect Dragic to take on a heavy leadership role beginning in 2016-17.
As for Whiteside, expect domination.
This summer, Whiteside signed a four-year, $98 million contract and is ready to prove his worth on the court. Last season, Whiteside led the league in blocks (by a very wide margin), averaged 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per game and only played 29 minutes per contest. Those numbers are likely to increase significantly with Whiteside entering his prime as the clear cut starter at center this season.
The 7-footer has been meticulously honing his offensive game in an effort to become more of a scoring threat, too.
“Low-post scoring, that’s the number one thing he wants to work on, and I’m all for it,” coach Spoelstra said last month in a team-released video. “He will also work on his skill level at the top of the floor, handling the ball, getting us into second situations as a playmaker.”
Taking all this into consideration, and adding the fact that Whiteside will have the perfect pick-and-roll partner in Dragic, there’s no reason the prized big man can’t average 20+ points and 12+ rebounds per game in 2016-17.
So yes, Wade is gone, Bosh can no longer play and LeBron James packed his bags for Cleveland a while ago, but this franchise’s future is still bright. There is plenty to look forward to as the team rebuilds its way to the top and repaves the road to success.
Expectations are still high, just ask coach Spoelstra:
“There are some things that will never change with this organization,” Spolestra said back in August. “Our expectation is to win. Our expectation is to compete for an NBA championship regardless of who we have in this uniform.”
There may have been some (big) bumps in the road this offseason, but Riley and company still plan to forge ahead:
“Coach’s attitude and my attitude is we want to win,” Riley stated in a recent presser. “We love Hassan (Whiteside), we love Josh (Richardson) and Justise (Winslow) and Tyler (Johnson) and a lot of the other young players that we have, so I think from that standpoint, it’s a wait and let’s see what happens. And then we’ll go from there. We’re rebuilding now. We’re not tweaking, like we did with the Big Three team. Or retooling, like we had to do right after LeBron left. We’re rebuilding, but we’re rebuilding to win now.”
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