Heat’s Goran Dragic again at a crossroads when it comes to potential playoff lineup
With the arrival of Victor Oladipo, the question became moot. There was, after all, little reason to contemplate a return of Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat’s playoff starting lineup.
Then came last week’s awkward landing by Oladipo after a dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers, his shift to the inactive list, and an indefinite absence.
For now, as it was last season, Kendrick Nunn is filling the starting role, allowing Dragic, less than a month from his 35th birthday, to bide his time as a reserve.
But unlike a year ago, when few saw it coming, Dragic as playoff starter, provided the Heat meet that postseason mandate, again could become a thing.
“I’m not thinking about it, if I’m honest,” Dragic said ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, the Heat’s second stop on a four-game western swing. “Whatever Coach needs, I’m here. If he needs me to start, if he needs me to come off the bench, whatever they need, I’m going to do for the team. As long as we win.
“Like I said, the most important thing is to try to win as much as possible and get to the playoffs. And from there, I will see what is going to happen.”
Last season, Dragic started only three of his 59 regular-season games. He then started 16 of his 17 playoff appearances, utilized as a reserve only after being sidelined by a debilitating foot injury, in the final game of the NBA Finals against the Lakers.
This season, he went into Tuesday night having started in 10 of his 34 appearances in an injury-marred season.
“It’s been challenging,” he said. “But, still, you have to continue to fight, try to get better. And as long as we’re winning, I’m fine.”
Among the reasons coach Erik Spoelstra opted for Nunn in place of Oladipo was to retain continuity with the rest of the rotation. While Dragic said that is meaningful, he said he appreciates that it does not preclude potential change.
“I mean the real truth is you have to stay ready,” he said. “You never know when your name is going to be called, or if you’re going to start or you’re going to come from the bench.
“Everybody’s here to do their job. I mean, it’s almost close to the end of the season, so we already know what each player brings and what’s their strengths and what’s their weaknesses, and how we need to play together. So it doesn’t matter if you start or sometimes you’re coming from the bench. I think that’s just the way it is. You just need to be ready.”
A question now is how Spoelstra will handle the Heat’s five remaining sets of back-to-back games, including a Wednesday night game against the Denver Nuggets.
“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Dragic said. “We still need to discuss that, so I don’t know. I’m going to be available if he needs me. But I don’t know yet.”
For Dragic, the past two seasons have come wearing a somewhat bulky brace on his right knee following surgery. At first, he balked at the contraption. He since has come to accept it as part of his uniform. He said if it became standard issue for Oladipo, it should be embraced for its benefit.
“When I put the brace on, if you start thinking too much, ‘I have a brace on, I have a brace on,’ then it’s going to slowly affect you,” he said. “But if you just go out there and just think about basketball, I think you can get it pretty quickly that you don’t notice that you have something on.
“And for me, that’s the case right now. I feel weird if I don’t wear it right now. You just have to deal with it and start thinking about different stuff.”
Ticket time
The Heat announced that tickets for their final eight regular-season home games would be go sale to the general public Thursday at 2 p.m., with the Heat still working with limited seating and health and safety protocols.
The Heat’s regular-season home finale is May 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers, with their regular-season schedule ending May 16 on the road against the Detroit Pistons.
There is the chance the Heat could host up to two play-in games the week of May 16, with the NBA playoffs to open May 22.
