Allow Goran Dragic to Reintroduce Himself

Commentary8 years ago3 min readJames Profetto

No less than three months ago, the cries of getting rid of Goran Dragic were heard loud and clear across Miami. The best one circling how Tyler Johnson could be a better fit on the Heat over Dragic (which is laughable at this point).

No, I won’t sit and type without being able to reflect on how much frustration I had with the 6-foot-3-inch Slovenian. I was one of the doubters that thought he was going to hurt the Miami Heat rather than help them.

I was a fool then. I understand the fault in my ways and how glad I am to eat my words.

But to comprehend the ups and downs of the Dragic-coaster Heat fans have been on, one must understand the timeline of what happened early in the 2015-16 season.

At the beginning of the regular season, Dragic’s wife gave birth to their second child. The birth happened in their native land, of Slovenia, thus making it difficult for him to see his newborn daughter.

He didn’t see his family until Nov. 16, 2015. That’s seven games of being “distracted.” That was evident due to him only averaging 13.4 points per game and not finishing at the rim at his normal elite clip.

Ouch, right? I think near-max point guards ought to give more than 13 points and a handful of assists, no? Well, yes, according to every member of Heat Twitter.

The fingers were hot-and-ready, waiting to strike at the next bad Goran sighting. And, boy, did they strike. Heat Twitter is relentless.

Flash forward to this month, the wonderful month of February. The cries are silenced, the record has stopped and is now on its B-side.

Dragic is playing like the max contracted point guard Pat Riley signed him to last season. Through eight games, Dragic has scored in double-digits seven times. Seven times (14, 12, 17, 10, 17, 24, 24)!

Against the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers, he’s mirrored his point totals (24) and is shooting a nifty 51.5 percent from the field. He’s earned one double-double and, for the month, is shooting 46 percent.

So, I ask of you, Heat fans, are you not aboard the Goran-coaster for the next turn?

You should be because it only gets more unexpected and rewarding from here.