In basketball, college or pro, we’ve all hear the saying good guard play wins games in the postseason. Sunday afternoon, in a win-or-go-home situation, that saying held true as the Miami Heat took the sting out of the Charlotte Hornets, 106-73.
Miami point guard Goran Dragic left his mark on the game by playing with confidence and being aggressive. Over the course of the game, Dragic continually beat Hornets point guard Kemba Walker off the dribble to the tune of 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field, along with six assists and four rebounds.
By far, that was Dragic’s best game in the series against the Hornets. Before his 25-point Game 7 outburst, Dragic was averaging only 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists through the first six games. He shot only 37.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three-point range. Point blank, Dragic let Walker take him to school in this series, which allowed Charlotte to force a Game 7.
Dragic flipped the script in Game 7, emboldened by a 12-point second half in Game 6, in which he finally regained trust in his abilities. Early in Game 7, you could see Dragic playing with confidence, controlling the pace of play and getting his teammates involved often.
An assertive Goran Dragic means good things for the Miami Heat. On Tuesday night, the Heat continue their playoff run against the second-seeded Toronto Raptors, who survived their own seven-game first-round battle, ultimately escaping Paul George and the Indiana Pacers. For the Heat to have a chance against Toronto, Dragic must stand up to Toronto All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry.
Even though Lowry and Walker are two different types of point guards, Lowry can still score in bunches, which means Dragic will have his hands full in this series. In the Raptors’ series against the Pacers, Lowry struggled. He averaged 14.3 points, 7.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He also shot a horrendous 32.9 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range. This was against Ty Lawson and George Hill. You have to think that based on the law of averages, Lowry should have a better series against Miami than he did against Indiana. The main concern, though, is that Lowry’s shooting form might be the result not of nerves or pressure applied by opposing defenses, but his nagging elbow injury.
If Lowry’s shooting does improve relative to the Indiana series, Dragic will have to keep pace with Lowry in order to offset that gain for Toronto. In three games against the Raptors this season, Dragic averaged only 11 points, 5.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 33.7 minutes per game. He shot 38.9 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from three-point range. If Dragic averages those types of numbers in this series, Toronto will certainly advance, possibly in no more than five games.
Feb 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) shoots the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) defends in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors won 99-97. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-233022 ORIG FILE ID: 20160226_ads_ss9_121.JPG
Let’s take a deeper look at the three games from this season against Toronto. In the Air Canada Centre, Dragic shot 27.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range. However, at American Airlines Arena, Dragic played better against the Raptors, shooting 50 percent from the field. With the Raptors have home court advantage in this series, Dragic will get a chance to exorcise his demons right away in Game 1.
One way he can correct those Air Canada Centre shooting woes is by getting to the rim, which he did well against the Hornets in Game 7. Against the Raptors this season, Dragic is shooting 63.6 percent at the rim. He must attack early and often and get the first step on Lowry.
Finally, unlike Lowry, this isn’t Dragic’s first rodeo in the conference semifinal round of the NBA playoffs. Back in the 2009-2010 season, Alvin Gentry coached the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference Finals. Dragic played a huge role in that playoff run, including the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs. In Game 3, Dragic scored 26 points on 1o-of-13 shooting, to go along with three assists and two rebounds in 17 minutes. This stat line may look familiar to you: It’s similar to what he did against the Hornets in Game 7.
When that game was over and the Heat were safely in the second round, Dwyane Wade said this about Dragic:
“Man, that’s the Goran Dragic we all love. He just puts so much pressure on the defense, and it allows other guys to just chill out. We want Goran to understand that when he’s playing that special for us, we’re a tough, tough team to beat.”
Heat-Raptors will be decided in many ways. Hassan Whiteside versus Jonas Valanciunas will matter a lot. DeMar DeRozan must take advantage of not having to face Paul George anymore. Luol Deng must continue to shoot the way he did against the Hornets. Justise Winslow and Norman Powell, both rookies, must continue to lend energy and defensive excellence to their respective teams.
Yet, if you had to pick one key more than any other, you saw how different — and better — the Heat are when Goran Dragic is locked in. How he plays against Kyle Lowry is the biggest key to this series.
