The NBA: Where Amazing Happens. That was a tagline the league used for a long time (not sure if they still use it), but it was a great slogan because it couldn’t be any truer.

I think part of what makes basketball my favorite sport – apart from the fast-paced nature of the game and the superhuman displays of athleticism – has been the unpredictability of it.

Despite basketball’s label as a “superstar-driven” sport, the success of a good team is also predicated and somewhat dependent on the fit and balance of the team’s best five players. This was a struggle the Heat were battling most of the season, as they tried relentlessly to find and optimize the right lineups for their rotation players to succeed.

But what couldn’t have been predicted, however, was losing the team’s best player, Chris Bosh, most likely for the rest of the season due to another blood clot scare. As a result, the Heat have made changes to push themselves ahead of the setback which has steered this team to a new level.

Miami’s resurgence like a phoenix out of ashes has been caused by three various factors: (i) Hassan Whiteside’s embracing and flourishing in his bench role, (ii) the well-needed addition of Joe Johnson, (iii) and the emergence of the Miami Screaming Suns, the Heat’s new starting lineup.

Whiteside Is Different … Since The All-Star Break

Let’s begin with Whiteside’s remarkable turnaround, which really began back on Jan. 22nd when he was benched in favor of A’mare Stoudemire. Miami’s starting lineup has included Stoudemire in every game since then and seems to have sparked a positive change for both players.

After a week-long All-Star break, Whiteside has come back with an apparent urgency to fully immerse himself (💯) in all facets of his life. He’s staying away from social media, as the team pleaded with him to do. He seems to have revolutionized his free throw shooting and jump shooting at the same time. He’s spoken about how much he’s embraced his role off the bench. And DJ Khaled is nowhere to be found. 🔑

See, what I think is Whiteside saw all the voices in this fanbase wanting to trade him away for nothing, largely because he was inconsistent and many felt he couldn’t be trusted. There is a zero percent chance Whiteside didn’t read your tweets.

But instead of imploding, he has emerged as one of the greatest sixth men in NBA history and is only beginning to scratch the surface of his ceiling.

Whiteside has also been even better defensively than he already was. He’s beginning to show much more discipline and he’s been more active than anyone else in the league around the rim.

According to NBA Stats, Whiteside is defending 11.6 field goal attempts per game, most in the NBA, and is holding opponents to 39.8 percent within five feet of the rim. That 39.8 percent is best in the NBA for players defending, at least, seven field goal attempts per game within five feet of the rim.

Prior to the All-Star break, Whiteside was holding opponents to 47.9 percent within five feet of the rim, only 12th best in the league.

Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside reacts to being fouled in the first half against the Washington Wizards, Feb. 20 at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Welcoming Joe Johnson’s Arrival

For months, it seemed there were occasional rumors coming out of Joe Johnson’s camp about him getting bought out by the woeful Brooklyn Nets and Miami being a team rumored to have an interest in acquiring him. Those rumors ended up being true and Miami made probably the biggest acquisition during both the trading deadline and buyout deadline.

The seven-time All-Star is a perfect fit with this team for a variety of reasons, the most important of which was his ability to spread the floor with his shooting. Johnson had a rough start this season in Brooklyn, shooting a dreadful 30 percent from 3 until the new year came around.

Since January 1st, Johnson has the fifth best three-point percentage in the NBA for players taking, at least, three attempts per game. His early returns with the Heat are even better. Currently, Johnson is shooting 6-for-10 from 3 (60 percent) in his first four games with the team – all of them double-digit wins.

photo illustration by @Sucks

Outside of his ability to spread the floor, Johnson has also showed off the other facets of his game that should really benefit Miami. He can handle the ball well enough to be trusted, which playing alongside proven off-ball cutters like Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng will lead to many easy baskets when he’s forced to give up on the shot.

Will Joe Johnson continue to play at such a high efficiency? Doubtful. Will stronger opponents give us more problems? Without a doubt. The important thing is just from the eye test alone, the team seems to fit better with Johnson in the lineup.

Take a look at the symbiotic nature of his chemistry with Wade and Dragic. Through four games, Dragic has assisted on four of Johnson’s 3-pointers, while Johnson has found Dragic for five 3-point looks (only converting on one). Meanwhile, Johnson has over 50 percent of his Heat assists on passes to Wade. A backcourt that plays together, stays together.

The Miami Screaming Suns

The Heat now currently have a total of four former Phoenix Suns active on the roster, three of them entrenched in the rotation. With Gerald Green struggling to find any kind of rhythm as of late, he has lost his spot in the rotation with the arrival of Joe Johnson.

But probably the least talked about member of the Miami Screaming Suns is the team’s starting center, and his play of late deserves recognition.

A’mare Stoudemire has re-emerged in recent weeks playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. This is surprising mostly because he was never touted as a quality defensive player. I decided to dive into his defensive dashboard at nba.com/stats after I kept noticing his strong defensive play. This is his dashboard for all games since the All-Star break.

Source: NBA Stats

Stoudemire is second in the NBA in FG% for players defending, at least, seven field goal attempts per game since the All-Star Break. He trails none other than fellow Screaming Suns member, Gerald Green. This is the silver lining when playing him as he struggles mightily with his shooting. It appears that when Birdman was traded, he left his defensive spirit behind with both Whiteside and Stoudemire. Let’s pour one out for Bird.

Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen and some of his tattoos during media day at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sept. 26, 2014.

Meanwhile, we haven’t even talked about the player that has made probably the biggest leap post-All-Star break: Goran Dragic.

Dragic has truly unleashed his inner dragon (🐲) since the loss of Chris Bosh, taking on a much more aggressive mindset which has resulted in a dominating stretch of performances.

He’s increased his usage rate, scoring, assists, and rebounds without sacrificing his field goal percentage and turnover rate. His true impact, however, can probably best be processed when looking at the Heat’s advanced stats with Dragic off the court since the All-Star break:

Source: NBA Stats

The Miami Heat have been outscored by 9.2 points per 100 possessions when Dragic has been off the court since Feb. 19. The next closest is Joe Johnson, and the Heat are actually winning games when he’s off the court.

Dragic, statistically, has been the driving force for this team offensively. They appear to be completely lost when he is off the court and a totally dominant force when he’s back on the floor, outscoring opponents by 15.7 points per 100 possessions.

While Dragic isn’t as notorious on social media, perhaps maybe he also saw a lot of the fanbase trading him on Twitter during the All-Star break, because his play has been nothing short of inspired.

The Heat have been playing four possessions per game faster with Dragic on the floor compared to when he’s on the bench. His ability to push the tempo at a near-frenetic pace while keeping control of his body makes him one of the most dangerous transition weapons in the league when used properly.

Altogether, the combination of experienced two-way players between Dragic, Wade, Johnson, Deng and Stoudemire in the starting lineup has proven to be destructive in its early returns. Destructive enough to give the lineup a nickname: The Miami Screaming Suns.

photo credit to Heat Reddit and whoever watches Rick and Morty

That lineup has played 49 minutes together, so just over one full game together. And in that game span, that lineup has outscored its opponents 129-92 with 60/50/83 shooting splits and 35 total assists.

Now, it should be noted these four games have been against likely lottery team. However, this is a dominant level of play regardless of the opponent

By and large, the emergence of the Miami Screaming Suns, along with the arrival of a more dominant version of Hassan Whiteside, have catapulted the Heat to a 7-2 record since the All-Star break (third in the NBA) and a plus-8.3 scoring differential (second in the NBA).

Miami, with only four games remaining this month against playoff bound teams, are in prime position to make a run and challenge Boston for the third seed in the East.