Category: Miami Heat Blog

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Tyler Johnson health update

The Heat are down 2-1 in their first round playoff series against the Sixers. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Heat shooting guard Tyler Johnson:

Guard Tyler Johnson began clutching his left hand early in Thursday’s game after jamming his left thumb while colliding with Sixers center Joel Embiid on the second possession.

Johnson was evaluated after the game but no serious damage was found after X-rays. He wore a protective wrap during Friday’s practice.

“I was trying to catch myself,stumbled, put my hand down,” Johnson said. “I lost my balance when I ran into him. I tried to brace myself on the floor and jammed my thumb … Initially it was a little bit sore. We got a little tape job on it.That’s more to make it a little bit more comfortable. It’s a little sore, nothing that’s not manageable.”

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Justise Winslow willing to do whatever

The playoffs are not a time for friendship between foes. It’s about winning. Send the other guys home. And every winning team needs an enforcer or two. Or three. As for the Heat, here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Justise Winslow is not here to win friends, not this time of year, and certainly not from the Philadelphia 76ers fans who took exception with his over-the-top defensive aggression against Ben Simmons.

“I can be the bad guy if that means winning,” the Miami Heat reserve forward said as his team prepared for Thursday’s Game 3 of the best-of-seven, opening-round series that is tied 1-1.

Winslow said maximizing his fouls and physicality against Simmons has returned him to his basketball roots.

“Growing up I played on all types of teams that would just press and defend and run around with our heads chopped off,” he said on the practice court at AmericanAirlines Arena. “But this is more organized obviously in the NBA. It’s fun sometimes you get to go back to that and just go out there and make plays defensively. It’s kind of in my nature. I was brought up in AAU, high school.”

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No Heat playing restrictions for Dwyane Wade

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on the Heat, who recently welcomed Dwyane Wade back and currently have no plans on restricting his play in regard to back-to-backs:

After being put into a “maintenance” program with the Miami Heat during his previous tenure with the team, Dwyane Wade said no such contingencies have been discussed for this reunion tour.

That had Wade again in the rotation in Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back set, after playing 21 minutes in Tuesday night’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Wade had been held out of games in four of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ back-to-back sets earlier this season before his recent buyout…

The Heat have three remaining back-to-back sets, with coach Erik Spoelstra saying Wednesday a maintenance plan has not been discussed since Wade’s signing.

“Not right now,” Spoelstra said, “no.”

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Cavs trade Dwyane Wade to Heat

The Cavs have traded Dwyane Wade to the Heat in exchange for a protected 2024 second-round draft pick.

The trade also creates a traded player exception for the Cavaliers in the amount of approximately $1.5 million.

“We would like to thank Dwyane for everything he brought to this team and to the Cleveland community during his time in Northeast Ohio,” said Cavs General Manager Koby Altman. “A definite Hall of Famer when his playing career is complete, his basketball legacy is cemented by how he carries himself both on and off the floor. His work ethic and commitment to the game of basketball with such an illustrious career was greatly respected by his Cavs teammates and everyone in our front office. We wish Dwyane nothing but the best in his return to Miami, where he established himself as one the NBA’s all-time elite players.”

“We feel that Dwyane can help our team in so many ways,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “It is a beautiful moment for us, for the city and for the fans. All of us embrace it in the manner that we want to win and that’s why we brought Dwyane back home. We look forward to having a great end of season run as we fight for the playoffs.”

Wade, a three-time NBA Champion with the HEAT, played 12 seasons in Miami, appearing in 855 regular season games (845 starts) averaging 23.7 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.65 steals and 35.7 minutes while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. The 12-time NBA All-Star is the HEAT’s all-time leader in points (20,221), field goals made (7,325), free throws made (5,185), double-figure scoring efforts (816), assists (4,944), steals (1,414), starts, games played and minutes played (30,560). He also ranks among the HEAT’s all-time leaders in blocks (2nd, 759), total rebounds (4th, 4,126), defensive rebounds (4th, 3,051), offensive rebounds (5th, 1,076), double-doubles (5th, 121), field goal percentage (7th, .488) and three-point field goals made (7th, 386). Additionally, Wade, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, has appeared in 166 career postseason games (all starts) with the HEAT averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.57 steals, 1.00 blocks and 38.4 minutes while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.

Hammons, who was acquired on July 7, 2017, did not appear in a game with the HEAT this season. He did appear in 25 games (14 starts) with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this season and averaged 8.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.96 blocks and 20.2 minutes while shooting 53.6 percent from the field.

Haslem happy to have Wade back on Heat

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on one veteran happy to have a longtime buddy back on the Heat:

Nobody might be happier about Dwyane Wade coming back to the Miami Heat than Udonis Haslem.

In fact, go ahead and mark it down. Nobody is happier about Wade, 36, heading home than his best friend.

“I bet you probably want to hear me say I knew it all the time, don’t you?” Haslem said through a grin Thursday outside the Heat’s locker room inside AmericanAirlines Arena. “No, it’s good, man. I’m happy for him. I’m happy to have the opportunity to play the game of basketball with him and compete with him, to lead with him. The guys are excited about the opportunity. Hank is still doing his job from above.”

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Hawks trade Luke Babbitt to Heat for Okaro White, who was then waived

The Miami Heat have traded Okaro White to the Atlanta Hawks for Luke Babbitt.

Babbitt, who was originally acquired by the HEAT on July 10, 2016, has appeared in 37 games (nine starts) with the Hawks this season averaging 6.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 15.4 minutes while shooting 47.6 percent from the field, 44.1 percent from three-point range and 77.3 percent from the foul line. He led Atlanta in three-point field goal percentage (minimum 50 attempts) and shot at least 50 percent from beyond the arc in 17 games this season. In his lone season in Miami during the 2016-17 campaign, he made a single-season career-high 87 three-point field goals and hit multiple treys in a game 23 times, also a single-season career best.

Babbitt has appeared in 368 career NBA regular season games (102 starts) during his eight-year career averaging 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 14.1 minutes while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor, 41 percent from three-point range and 74.7 percent from the foul line. Including this season, Babbitt has shot at least 40 percent from downtown in four consecutive seasons.

White, who was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 15, 2016, has appeared in 41 career games with Miami (four starts) averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes while shooting 38.8 percent from the field. He appeared in six games with the HEAT this season before having surgery on November 16 to repair a fifth metatarsal fracture in his left foot.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Hawks, after the above trade, requested waivers on forward Okaro White.

Hassan Whiteside playing fewer minutes this season

Talented Heat big-man Hassan Whiteside is receiving fewer-than-expected minutes per game from the Heat this season, and is often finding himself watching 4th quarter action rather than participating in it. He played 29.1 minutes per game in 2015-16, 32.6 minutes per game last season, but this season he’s at 25.5 minutes per game through Monday’s action. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

Back from a one-game absence following a stomach ailment, Whiteside again found himself as fourth-quarter spectator in Monday night’s 111-109 loss to the league-worst Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“I played my average minutes, you know. I average, what, 22 minutes, 23 minutes? So that’s pretty much how it’s been,” said Whiteside, who was utilized for 22 minutes, 44 seconds, nonetheless closing with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

With the emergence of rookie center Bam Adebayo and the addition of Kelly Olynyk, Whiteside is averaging 25.3 minutes per game this season, down from his 32.6 last season, when the Heat’s primary backup big man was journeyman center Willie Reed.

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Goran Dragic replaces Kevin Love in 2018 NBA All-Star game

 

 

A post shared by Goran Dragic (@the_1_dragon) on

InsideHoops.com

Heat guard Goran Dragic has been selected by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Cavs forward/center Kevin Love on Team LeBron in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Los Angeles on February 18.

This will be Dragic’s first-time as an NBA All-Star.

Dragic is the first player from Slovenia to earn the honor.

The Southeast Division-leading Heat (29-22) have the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference through games of January 31, 2018, and Dragic, a 10-year veteran, has been a big part of their success. He’s averaging team-highs of 17.0 points and 4.8 assists per game.

Dragic joins Kyle Korver (2015), Tyson Chandler (2013) and Sam Cassell (2004) as the most recent players to be named an All-Star for the first time in their 10th season or later.

Love will miss the 2018 NBA All-Star Game due to a fracture in his left hand.

Heat surprised that Bam Adebayo did not make Rising Stars Challenge roster

Being named to All Star weekend teams and events matters. To the players who make it, to those who don’t, and to their fans who support them. It’s great exposure, and for the bigger events, it’s a real honor. In this case, the Heat were rooting for their own, for Bam Adebayo not to make an All-Star team — he’s nowhere near that — but to be added to the Rising Stars game, which includes the rookies and sophomores worth watching. Here’s the Palm Beach Post reporting:

For the most part, the Heat brushed off the fact they won’t be represented in this year’s All-Star Game. But when rookie Bam Adebayo’s name was not on the list of players voted into the Rising Stars Challenge, the Heat were surprised.

“That’s crazy. I really didn’t see that coming,” Udonis Haslem said in advance of Thursday’s game against the Kings. “There was no doubt in my mind Bam was definitely going to have a chance to represent the Heat in the rookie game. That’s very unfortunate.

“It’s hard to understand what those things come down to. I don’t know how they pick it. I don’t know if it’s popularity. But the body of work that Bam has put in when [Hassan Whiteside] was out and even with the opportunity he gets when H is in, he’s had a heck of an impact on us and this run that we’ve made. We couldn’t have been able to do it without Bam.”

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