The Miami Heat missed an opportunity to send Tuesday night’s game versus the Denver Nuggets into overtime when Kelly Olynyk and Josh Richardson mistimed an alley-oop inbound pass, and on Wednesday, Dion Waiters admitted that he would have loved an opportunity to take that potential game-tying shot.
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“I think everybody knows the answer to that,” Waiters said when asked if he would have liked an opportunity to take the pivotal shot. “But I feel like Kelly made the right decision also. I mean it was there, I think if he had just put a little more air under it and gave Josh a chance, but of course I wanted it. I feel like I got a couple steps away from the defender. Who knows what would have happened.”
For most of the season, either Richardson or Dwyane Wade have been tasked with last-second shots. It now appears as thought Waiters wants to be added to that list as well.
Waiters does not seem to be critiquing the choice that Olynyk made to go for the risky inbound pass, but instead stated how much he would have relished the opportunity to put his team on his back.
It is quite clear that the shooting guard, who played in just his second game since returning from ankle surgery, is starting to gain confidence. That is not only evident in his desire to take last-second shots, but also in his play on Tuesday night. Waiters led the Heat with 15 points in Tuesday night’s loss and shot 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the three-point line.
While the Heat dipped back under a .500 record on the season after Tuesday night’s loss, it looks as though they may have gained another offensive weapon that will hopefully help them continue to push for a seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
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