The Heat have changed a lot over the past few years but in Game 6, they still relied on Dwyane Wade to deliver crucial buckets in crunch time to avoid elimination, like they have so many times in the past. The addition of Goran Dragic midway through last year was supposed to give them a more balanced attack but that never materialized. Miami remained Wade's team, sometimes to a fault.
NBA playoff scores 2016: The Heat’s Game 7 win showed their future
The Heat saw Goran Dragic lead the way in their big Game 7 win against Charlotte, and with him, they see what should be coming in Miami very soon.
It shouldn’t be surprising to see Dragic deliver a 25-point performance. After all, he was considered a borderline star before joining the Heat. His time in Miami, however, has been bumpy. He never found the balance between his preference for running and Wade’s slow-paced, isolation-heavy game. Despite signing a massive five-year deal, for most of the regular season he looked like a role player.
The first six games of the series were looking like further proof that Pat Riley had made a mistake by cashing most of his chips on a player that didn’t fit with his biggest star, as Dragic averaged 12 points on 37 percent shooting. Then on Game 7, he seemingly figured it all out.
He let Wade have his possessions and patiently waited for the ball in the weak side. Whenever he could push the ball up court, however, he did so, typically to good results. Suddenly, his confidence was as high as it had been when he was at his best in Phoenix and the offense benefited greatly from the change of pace he offers over the typically deliberate Miami attack.
WHAT. A. SEQUENCE.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 1, 2016
Defense ➡️ offense pic.twitter.com/bRpSkkdmNC
Wade was big in the win, as he always is. He’s still the heart and soul of the Heat and a terrific leader. He had no problem letting his backcourt mate carry the offense and he still made some solid contributions. Yet there are no two ways about it: this win belongs to Dragic.
It’s hard to say if this is just a blip on an otherwise unremarkable season at the individual level for the Heat’s guard or a turning point. What’s now clear is that when Dragic is at his best, so is Miami. If both he and Wade can continue to find the right balance on offense, the Heat could be a handful in the second round.
- Jesus Gomez
2 more things from Sunday
The Raptors shrug off their skeleton
It was 15 years since Toronto won a playoff series, back before the first round took seven games and before Drake even went on Degrassi. It took a nervous 12 minutes and near heartbreak in a collapse, but on Sunday, Toronto did it. They finally did it.
It was not the fourth quarter that anyone in Toronto would have preferred. The Raptors entered the frame up 78-64 on the Indiana Pacers and proceeded to devolve into a clock-killing offense that left them without makeable shots at the end of nearly every possession. It was a move we've seen this season, born out of two stars who believe they can reliably hit any shot they manufacture but really just end up killing the offense, and it was also probably something done out of the anxiety of a Game 7, something only a few of the Raptors had experienced before. Indiana did their part, too, with Paul George leading the charge back but ultimately committing three huge turnovers in the final four minutes. (Two could have gone the other way with the benefit of the referee's whistle, but didn't.)
It would have been tragic to see the Raptors blow a third-straight first series while playing on their home court, and for that, we’re grateful. Toronto’s series was hardly inspiring in many ways, but to an extent, whatever happens in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat doesn’t matter. The skeleton that Toronto had to shed lay in the first round, and finally, they’ve rid themselves of that one for good.
Portland’s situation really didn’t get worse
Game 1 was a knockout punch struck with utmost force delivered just seconds into the first round. The Stephen Curry-less Warriors showed no mercy, with Klay Thompson quickly leading Golden State to a big lead and Draymond Green coming through in the third quarter to push past the Trail Blazers in the blowout 118-106 win. Portland's in a bad situation because any team facing Golden State, even without their best player, is in a bad situation. As the Wu-Tang famously said, 73 wins ain't nothing to f--- with. (Don't fact check that.) Curry or not, the Warriors are an insanely dangerous team.
But OK, it’s Golden State and that’s bad. It’s Game 1, they lost and they’re down a game in a race to four. Portland knew all about that coming into this series, and with an inexperienced roster traveling to one of the NBA’s most premiere home-court advantages, they had to expect that one win out of the two would be the best-case scenario. The Blazers were killed in the first quarter, trailing 37-17 by the time it ended, but Portland quietly won the final three frames by eight points. Golden State played their starters deep into the fourth, and while it clearly would have been different if the game was closer, Portland hung with them tough for 36 minutes.
Virtually no one in Portland has extensive playoff experience outside of Damian Lillard. The Blazers are a very young team, and when you watch them get crushed in the first quarter on the road in the second round with the decibels reaching the level that screaming metal concerts do, it makes sense. Now they know what it’s like playing the NBA’s best team in an enormous game. Avoid going down huge early on for Game 2 and Portland is looking at an entirely new game. It’s still unlikely they steal more than a game, but Curry’s injury has inserted some level of doubt into Golden State’s hegemony. The final score on Sunday shows the game one way, but there’s no doubt the Trail Blazers feel differently.
- Tim Cato
Play of the night
Paul George couldn’t help but 360 dunk in a Game 7. That’s just what he does.
6 fun things
Andre Iguodala dribbled through the legs, then finished with a reverse layup because he’s a magical.
Final scores
Heat 106, Hornets 73 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | At the Hive recap)
Warriors 118, Trail Blazers 106 (Golden State of Mind recap | Blazer’s Edge recap)
Raptors 89, Pacers 84 (Raptors HQ recap | Indy Cornrows recap)
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