The Miami HEAT came off a grueling 6-game road trip, where they finished 1-5. Most teams would look at that as a negative, but not this team. After the HEAT beat the Dallas Mavericks in a close game at American Airlines Arena Thursday night, it meant that they came off 1-5 to a 2-game win streak.
A two-game win streak hasn’t been common for the HEAT in the 2016-17 season, much less a winning, but no one has held their heads down in the locker room. The HEAT came into the season with 9 new players on their roster, along with the loss of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. It was going to be a season where the team would have to find a new identity and discover what works well for them. New leaders would emerge.
On Thursday night, the emergence of Goran Dragic became evident. One area of concern for the HEAT throughout the season was finishing close games with win. A 2-point HEAT lead with 18.5 seconds left qualifies as close. Between Tyler Johnson’s 10-points in the 4th and Dragic’s hustle and 11-point 4th quarter, the win was secured for the HEAT.
Don’t get too excited yet, though. We’re all still wondering if this is just a fluke for the HEAT, since this isn’t the first time that they’ve won two games in a row this season. According to new guard, Rodney McGruder, the losing road trip helped the entire team grow. Following the road trip, Spoelstra said the team went through two very difficult practices, and the combination of the learning experiences from losing and the tough practices have helped this HEAT team grow together.
On Saturday, the HEAT face the Milwaukee Bucks, which is a team they just lost to on their road trip. This young team can prove all the doubters wrong that their recent winning isn’t a fluke, and there is the promise of better things to come as they continue to grow together.