Dwyane Wade on Goran Dragic Pairing: 'We're Trying to Sacrifice for Each Other'

MIAMI — The jury remains out on the Dwyane Wade-Goran Dragic partnership. Even the players themselves aren't quite sure what they have in one another.

"We're trying to sacrifice for each other," Wade said. "It takes a little bit of time to learn exactly what we need to do."

There isn't much mystery with Wade (when his oft-injured body cooperates), who remains as consistent as ever for the Miami Heat. He's had between 16 and 25 points during nine of his 17 outings, and the rest of his stat sheet almost always features a handful of assists and rebounds.

Dragic is more volatile. He's had eight points or fewer five times. He has five outings with three or fewer assists, six with six-plus.

That shouldn't be the case. Both are skilled enough to make steady contributions, but there are certain steps to reach that point. The goal for this two-man group is incremental growth—"the process" as Heat skipper Erik Spoelstra likes to call it. 

"Each individual needs to find his spot on the team," Dragic said. "Then, everything gets much easier. It still needs a lot of work, but it's challenging. That's why I like it."

'It's our job to help him get more opportunities' 

Issac Baldizon/Getty Images

The Heat are starting to see tangible benefits.

During Dragic's last two outings—Heat victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers—he's totaled 31 points on 59.1 percent shooting (71.4 from three) and 15 assists. More importantly, he has looked comfortable running the offense with Wade. Their two most productive outings in terms of combined points plus assists have been their last two: 53 against OKC, 48 on the Cavs.

"I'm starting to realize when he needs the ball, when he's gonna take the ball, and it's much easier," Dragic said. "It's just reading situations. Some nights, he's gonna have a great night, the ball's gonna be in his possession and he'll make all the plays."

And the team is trying to fit with him.

"As we play together more, I think we are all seeing ways that we can help him," Wade said. "It's our job to help him get more opportunities."

Part of that comes from creating more opportunities overall. In other words, playing faster to create more possessions per game.

The Heat will never be an up-and-down team like Dragic's old clubs in Phoenix and Houston. They have one of the league's oldest rosters, particularly in the starting lineup, and their 7'0", 265-pound centerpiece Hassan Whiteside wouldn't be mistaken for a track star by anyone.

But Miami has made a conscious effort to add some pep to its step. The Heat averaged nearly three extra possessions per 48 minutes during their last two games than their first two (96.36, up from 93.48), and the desire to help Dragic find his footing was a major reason why.

"We had to get him going," Chris Bosh said. "[Playing faster] was a huge, huge part of it. We had to kind of take the shackles off him a little bit."

Getting Dragic going

Wade and Bosh sit first and second, respectively, atop the Heat's offensive pecking order. Depending on the night, Whiteside, Gerald Green, Luol Deng, Justise Winslow or Tyler Johnson could all wind up with more chances than Dragic.

But Miami knows how special the Dragon can be (they staked $90 million on Dragic's potential this past offseason). They brought him over knowing his numbers would rarely look like those of a near-nine-figure player.

Miami doesn't have many (if any) players who can match his shooting efficiency: 50.3 percent from the field, 38.0 from deep over the past two seasons. And nothing breathes more life into this attack than spacing. So much of what they want to do revolves around interior scoring: dribble drives, off-ball cuts, post-ups, putbacks. Someone has to stop opposing defenses from overcrowding the paint.

Result	Three-Point Percentage	Offensive Rating
Win	35.2	105.4
Loss	25.4	94.2

Dragic can scratch Wade's back with his shooting range. Miami's support gunners—Tyler Johnson (48.3 percent), Deng (32.7), Green (28.1)—must do the same for Dragic.

Carrying the load

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This backcourt has to dominate offensively for a couple of reasons.

There aren't many self-sufficient scorers on the roster. Bosh can create his own looks in a pinch, but he's a much better shooter off the catch (49.6 effective field-goal percentage) than off the dribble (39.7). The supporting cast doesn't have anyone who can handle a heavy scoring load for lengthy stretches, save for the trigger-happy Green on one of his good nights.

Plus, this tandem wasn't put together with defense in mind. Neither ranks among the top 10 at his position in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus, with Wade sitting 15th at shooting guard (0.09) and Dragic ranking 28th at point (minus-0.58). And it's not like the pair can blame those rankings on their teammates with the Heat sitting No. 2 in defensive efficiency (95.0 points allowed per 100 possessions).

But that last number answers one question about this dyad—yes, it can function together on the defensive end. Miami has enough other stoppers (Bosh, Whiteside, Winslow, Deng) to make it work.

It remains to be seen how good the two can be offensively, but there's more excitement than fear in that given what they've shown of late.

Back when they were taking turns on offense, Dragic and Wade seemed like their minutes would be best in a staggered setup. That's still something Spoelstra can use to let the guards lead lineups that are tailored to their strengths.

But the Heat's key to contention is a backcourt with Dragic and Wade attacking in unison. That's the most talented, productive look they have, and nothing else puts more pressure on a defense.

That's becoming more obvious every time the two take the floor.

"It's getting better," Dragic said. "Everybody can see it."

All quotes obtained firsthand. Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and current through games played Dec. 6.

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