Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

Pressure on Heat veterans tonight in NYC

This should be easy.

The Knicks are intentionally awful, worst in the East at 14-61, and arguably the worst franchise in the East over the past five years.

But, with the Heat missing Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Rodney McGruder — and having struggled against some of the NBA’s worst teams already — nothing can be taken for granted.

Simply, they need to get something of significance from three of the highest-paid veterans on the roster: Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters and James Johnson.

The good news is Waiters has been a little better of late, averaging 20.3 points in his past three games, with reasonable efficiency.

The Heat had a short morning shootaround in Manhattan and John Kozan of Miami Heat Beat was there to cover it (and take the photo above).

Tip is at 7:30 p.m.

Follow @5ReasonsSports and @MiaHeatBeat for more coverage.

JRich, Winslow out for Heat trip

The Miami Heat need just about every game from here out…. and would seem to need every key player.

They won’t have two of the Kids for the next two games, however.

Neither Josh Richardson (heel) nor Justise Winslow (thigh) traveled to New York for the opening contest of a short trip that finishes in Boston.

That means Goran Dragic will continue to start at point guard, with Derrick Jones Jr. also likely taking a spot in the lineup. It also means that the Heat will rely heavily on Dwyane Wade and Dion Waiters to provide offense.

That should be enough against New York.

Against the Celtics, who are trying to grab a homecourt seed in the East?

We’ll see.

Goran, Luka and the Slovenians that Didn’t Stop

Goran Dragic played his best game of the season Thursday, filling in as a starter for Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson and recording a triple-double in a needed win for the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks.

But neither he, nor certain Rookie of the Year forward Luka Doncic on the other squad, were the Slovenian stars of the occasion.

No, those were the fans, who gathered at Bayside, started chanting from all sides of AmericanAirlines Arena prior to tipoff, and never stopped. Not even when the game did.

This was the scene 20 minutes after the final buzzer:

And eventually, after showering and speaking to the media, Dragic came out of the locker room to lead more chants.

Hey, can they stick around for the rest of the Heat’s playoff chase?