Rare Burst of Good Health Helps Heat

For the most part, it’s been a pretty lousy year for the Miami Heat. They unexpectedly lost the services of LeBron James before the season began. Then they lost Chris Bosh to blood clots in his lungs. Without two of their Big Three, the Heat (31-36 SU, 30-33-4 ATS) will likely miss the NBA Finals for the first time in five years. They might not even make the playoffs.

Despite all their struggles, the Heat’s available at 66/1 on the NBA Championship futures market as we go to press. That’s not too far behind the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards at 50/1. There’s even been some positive buzz about Miami’s chances of doing some damage in the playoffs. It could happen, but the Heat would have to stay healthy for a change.

Wade Down South

First and foremost, the Heat still has Dwyane Wade (22.9 Player Efficiency Rating). He might not be an MVP-level player any more, but Wade is still a major threat on offense, scoring 24.6 points and dishing out 5.9 assists per 36 minutes. And even though Wade has missed 18 games with a series of hamstring injuries, his usage rate of 32.7% is higher than it’s been in five years.

Right now, Wade looks healthier than ever. He’s scored at least 25 points in each of Miami’s last seven games, pushing the Heat to a record of 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS. That includes back-to-back upsets over LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers (–5.5 away) and the Portland Trail Blazers (–2.5 away). Wade told ESPN’s Michael Wallace on Wednesday that he’s changed up his workout routine, and has been putting in more hours to prepare for opposing defenses. Practice makes perfect.

Hassan Chop

Although Wade no longer has James and Bosh by his side, he does have two new running partners who deserve more attention than they’ve been getting. Goran Dragic (21.4 PER in Miami) has found his groove again since arriving from the Phoenix Suns at the trade deadline. And Hassan Whiteside (26.5 PER) continues to impress in this breakout campaign, putting up 17.5 points, 15.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per 36 minutes. Between Dragic on offense and Whiteside on defense, Wade is once again part of a viable Big Three.

Let’s not forget about Luol Deng (16.2 PER) and Chris Andersen (16.3 PER); they’re two valuable foot soldiers who have toiled in relative obscurity this year. Then there’s the wild card: Michael Beasley with a 9.1 Player Efficiency Rating. He was signed for the remainder of the season on Wednesday, after finishing up a pair of 10-day contracts with mixed results. Last year, Beasley occasionally proved that he could be a valuable contributor, giving the Heat 18.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per 36 minutes. But that was at the expense of a minus-3.5 Box Plus/Minus. As always with the enigmatic second-overall pick in 2008, it’s high-risk, high-reward, which is perfectly acceptable when you’re a 66/1 long shot.