Goran Dragic Should Stop Trying To Fit In To The Heat Offense

[Disabled Sports]

Even though we are only 7 games into the NBA season, it is becoming increasingly clear that the biggest obstacle the Miami Heat have to overcome (besides health) for the rest of this season is reminding Goran Dragic to play his style of basketball instead of try to adjust to how his teammates play. Thru the first 7 games, Dragic is most of the time bring the ball up to the three-point line and passing the ball to Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh so they can create their own shot as well as facilitate for the rest of the team while Dragic stands in a spot behind three-point line waiting for an opportunity to shoot. As a result of this, the Heat starting lineup besides Hassan Whiteside is taking most of their field goals attempts from 16 feet to the three-point line. A perfect example of this is Loul Deng, according to basketball reference Deng so far this season is taking 34.9 percent of his field goals attempts from behind three-point line meanwhile he only takes 30.2 percent of his field goals attempts from 0-3 feet. This is because they don’t have the speed to constantly get by their defender and when they decide to attack the basket they either take a contested shot or pass it back out.

If the Miami Heat want to reach the eastern conference finals they need to run a similar offense like they ran when LeBron James was on the team. Most of the time have Goran Dragic be the primary ball handler who is attacking the basket and have Wade slashing towards the basket just in case the defense collapses on Dragic then Dragic passes the Wade underneath the basket and Bosh standing at the free throw waiting for an opportunity to shoot. This will spread the floor and create more open looks for the rest of the team. The only concern is that this concept / idea is going to take many months to come to fruition because Dragic wants to be a good teammate and not step on anybody’s toes
http://disabledsports.sportsblog.com/posts/6968749/goran-dragic-should-stop-trying-to-fit-in-to-the-heat-offense.html

[QUIZ]

It'll be interesting to see how Goran looks when Wade misses his first game. Goran has never played with players of Wade and Bosh's caliber and as a result he really seems to disappear in games because he doesn't want to step on anybodies toes like you said. I think he needs to relax and just let the ball fly. If Gerald green can get away with it why can't he? Goran's never been a high FG attempt guy but I'd like to see him back around 14 shots per game.

[Bishop45]

I'm not sure what they're doing but I feel like it can't be final product. For some reason Dragic/Bosh PnP seems to be once-in-a-shot-clock type thing. I hope they find it out soon... Been a big Dragic fan, don't remember him like this

[Disabled Sports]

It'll be interesting to see how Goran looks when Wade misses his first game. Goran has never played with players of Wade and Bosh's caliber and as a result he really seems to disappear in games because he doesn't want to step on anybodies toes like you said. I think he needs to relax and just let the ball fly. If Gerald green can get away with it why can't he? Goran's never been a high FG attempt guy but I'd like to see him back around 14 shots per game.

when wade sits he will attack because he knows he will be the only wing player who can put constant pressure on the d

[RexBoyWonder]

Even though we are only 7 games into the NBA season, it is becoming increasingly clear that the biggest obstacle the Miami Heat have to overcome (besides health) for the rest of this season is reminding Goran Dragic to play his style of basketball instead of try to adjust to how his teammates play. Thru the first 7 games, Dragic is most of the time bring the ball up to the three-point line and passing the ball to Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh so they can create their own shot as well as facilitate for the rest of the team while Dragic stands in a spot behind three-point line waiting for an opportunity to shoot. As a result of this, the Heat starting lineup besides Hassan Whiteside is taking most of their field goals attempts from 16 feet to the three-point line. A perfect example of this is Loul Deng, according to basketball reference Deng so far this season is taking 34.9 percent of his field goals attempts from behind three-point line meanwhile he only takes 30.2 percent of his field goals attempts from 0-3 feet. This is because they don’t have the speed to constantly get by their defender and when they decide to attack the basket they either take a contested shot or pass it back out.

If the Miami Heat want to reach the eastern conference finals they need to run a similar offense like they ran when LeBron James was on the team. Most of the time have Goran Dragic be the primary ball handler who is attacking the basket and have Wade slashing towards the basket just in case the defense collapses on Dragic then Dragic passes the Wade underneath the basket and Bosh standing at the free throw waiting for an opportunity to shoot. This will spread the floor and create more open looks for the rest of the team. The only concern is that this concept / idea is going to take many months to come to fruition because Dragic wants to be a good teammate and not step on anybody’s toes
http://disabledsports.sportsblog.com/posts/6968749/goran-dragic-should-stop-trying-to-fit-in-to-the-heat-offense.html

Good to see you posting here again mate, great write-up couldn't have said it better myself if I tried.

Wade and Dragic are not a natural fit in the same way Wade and Lebron weren't, so they need to learn to play off of each other and not "take turns" running the show.

Also Spo can help by maximizing the time each of them gets to be the primary ball handler - one of them should be on the court at all time. Since Wade isn't playing big minutes anyway, Dragon should have at least 18 minutes a night being the main guy initiating the offense.

1 good sign I noticed in these early stages - Wade has been working on his corner 3's. Which will be helpful in the time Goran drives, the defense collapse and he finds wade. Dragic is good at kicking it out to the corners.

Dragon also needs to embrace to 3 pointers when he's playing next to Wade, if they both pass up on open 3 our spacing gets ****.

[ReturnofMVP3]

This is sort of like bosh complex the first year of the big 3. Hope he figures things out soon.

[RexBoyWonder]

This is sort of like bosh complex the first year of the big 3. Hope he figures things out soon.

Goran adjusting to his new hair?

Spoiler:

[EscapoTHB]

I really think the whole fit/offense thing is really overstated. It's obvious that coming in he was really out of shape, and he has a lot of distractions off of the court. To me, he just doesn't look like his head is in the game. Especially compared to last season.

I think it is ostensibly a slow start and I'm sure he'll be better the second half of the year, assuming the off the court issues settle down.

But I honestly don't see anything in our games that wouldn't be fixed by him just being in better shape, and playing better. It's not like he's never played with Wade or Whiteside or Deng before, and bosh is really easy to play with for his game. He just makes a lot of bad decisions, and can't really explode at the rim right now. Also a step slow defensively which is the real big issue right now.

I'm sure it will work out. The one thing I worry about is that he's so out of shape, that he might get a muscle injury trying to get back into shape--or the strain on his knees from being so fat might give him a knee injury and that could turn a slow start into a lost season. Particularly as the pressure from his contract mounts.

I'm patient though. And I think Spo is handling it correctly right now by cutting his minutes. He's the third best PG on our roster right now, and he's only starting because we know that he'll eventually get back to form. But for now, you have to balance the long term goals of the team, with the short term failings of the individual.

[phrazbit]

Goran is not a half court player, its not as much about stepping on toes, but rather that he is a transition player in a plodding system. The guy has never been a particularly good player in half court sets and certainly is not a distributor, the one area he is elite is in the open court and the Heat's system is not designed for it... along with him not really having any teammates out there to run with. Green is good in transition but if you guys play Green and Dragic out there at the same time on a regular basis your defense will go to the toilet.

Its also worth noting that outside of one year in his career he's never been a particularly good player... certainly the balance of his career he's played better than his play thus far in 2015/16, but he isn't a star. The guy is a system player, he needs to be able to run and the Heat are a bad match for him.

[xant1311]

heh phrazbit some things never change ...

from the Suns forums to here you always **** on Dragic even in the season he carried the whole Suns offense
you had constantly something to say against him ...

[Bishop45]

last years production from Goran was good enough for me. I know he got off to a slow start, so I'll give it time

[dolphinatik]

more like Goran being told what not to do and what they want him to do and its hurting his game. When Wade is in the game he wants the ball for iso's and his shots, He also has two signature passes his over the shoulder lob or a kickout to (Haslem for a midrange jumper). To me this is on the coach to fix to maximize players and change the way we share the ball when Wade is on the floor. Wade is our best player and capable of being just as dynamic if he is not the focal point of the ofense as he is when he is the focal point. It has to be more of a coincidence that new players get more and more passive the more they "learn" our system. But to OP original point yes Dragic needs to stop trying to fit in and step it up playing the way he is best suited.

[HEATVols865]

What off the court distractions does he have?


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[deb]

Supposedly there were complication with the birth of his second child. His wife is only now joining him in Florida with their children, he's been apart from his family since the start of the training camp...

[jereseja]

Supposedly there were complication with the birth of his second child. His wife is only now joining him in Florida with their children, he's been apart from his family since the start of the training camp...

Shes coming on thursday.

[Heat_Fan_87]

hope everything is ok with his family, and this is all mental with him. still don't think he is a great fit with wade but too much invested now for it not to work.

[STA 13]

Well look at the current usage rankings

1) Wade 32
2) Bosh 22.5
3) Whiteside 21.8
4) Dragic 18.7

To me Wade is way over-utilized at the expense of the other 3 players, particularly Dragic.

A more reasonable ranking would be something like

1) Wade 25
2) Bosh 25
3) Dragic 25
4) Whiteside 24

[deb]

Wade's usage (except in his his rookie season) never went below 27.9, even with LBJ. Last year his usage was over 34, so it's actually down somewhat this year. If the Heat get it below 30, that'd be great. Can't really imagine Wade with 25 usage though. A better solution imo would be to stagger Wade's and Dragic's minutes, that way the Heat can up Dragic's usage without hampering Wade's production. There should be at least one of them on the court at all times
Another good thing imo would be to limit Wade's minutes to say 28 mpg, as that would allow him to be more agressive on both ends of the court when he's actually on the court, and probably keep him in better health. The Heat are basically already doing it though, this year Wade averages 29.3 mpg.

[HialeahHeatFan]

Well look at the current usage rankings

1) Wade 32
2) Bosh 22.5
3) Whiteside 21.8
4) Dragic 18.7

To me Wade is way over-utilized at the expense of the other 3 players, particularly Dragic.

A more reasonable ranking would be something like

1) Wade 25
2) Bosh 25
3) Dragic 25
4) Whiteside 24

Bosh and dragic's usage will level out once they become more involved with each other in pick and rolls and or pops.
I expect whiteside to remain the same seeing as he is very effective at garbage points and some games our perimeter players will have the advantage. Wades will drop accordingly the more he begins to trust this group of guys, but don't expect it to drop much he is still trusted to finish off teams in crunch time as the primary ball handler.

[phrazbit]

heh phrazbit some things never change ...

from the Suns forums to here you always **** on Dragic even in the season he carried the whole Suns offense
you had constantly something to say against him ...

A great counterpoint to a fact based argument.

I actually like Goran as a player, although his manic fan boys like the quoted poster would disagree because I have the gall to recognize his flaws. He is a elite player in transition and an above average shooter. But bad at running a half court offense and an atrocious defender. Unless the Heat open up in transition, and frankly I don't know that they have the personnel to do so, then Dragic will remain a poor fit with them.