Having won 22 of their last 27 games, the Miami Heat have made the remarkable in-season climb from lottery fodder to playoff contender, and even their star point guard is taken aback by the extent of their recent success.
After the Heat defeated the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, Goran Dragic, who finished with 33 points, had this great reaction to hearing MVP chants from the Miami faithful, per Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald.
.@Goran_Dragic on hearing MVP chants: "I kept looking around to see if D-Wade was here."
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) March 16, 2017
The irony here is that Dwyane Wade’s departure has perhaps been directly responsible for Dragic’s strong play this season. Now that he has been able to handle the ball more often, work with a better-spaced floor, and play more to his natural up-tempo style, the Slovenian has responded with averages of 20.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game in 2016-17, right on par with his All-NBA season with the Phoenix Suns back in 2013-14.
Considering everything else that he has had to fight through recently, it’s safe to say that Dragic has earned those chants for himself.
