.png)
The Miami Heat haven’t had it Easy this season. There’s been injuries, tough losses, and frustration, but where most Ordinary People would have folded, the Heat have prevailed.
In a week where Miami has four heavyweight clashes with the East’s elite, they could come out looking battered and bruised, or living in their own Winter Wonderland. After a statement victory over Chicago in game one of the week from hell, Miami took a tough one point loss in Milwaukee, before bouncing back against Brooklyn despite missing many key players. With a tough test against the new-look 76ers just Over the Rainbow, the Heat will have a good idea of where they stand among their fellow contenders by the time the final buzzer sounds on Saturday night.
While Miami remains first in the East, 20 games above .500 for the first time since the Big 3 Era, there are still questions to be answered. To be truthful, to a fully healthy Heat squad: we just Haven’t Met You Yet.
Markieff Morris’ return is still an unknown, Kyle Lowry has been in and out over the last month while he deals with his personal reasons, yet there is one Thingamajig that is a cause of extreme optimism for Heat Nation.
If you haven’t guessed by now, or have failed to pick up on the many shameless references to his appearance on the Masked Singer, I’m talking about Victor Oladipo.
It was reported by Shams Charania during Miami's win over Brooklyn on Thursday night that the Heat have earmarked Monday's game against Oladipo's former team, the Houston Rockets, for his season debut. Almost a full year has passed since Oladipo’s acquisition from Houston, yet the former All-Star has played just 111 minutes across 4 games in a Miami Heat uniform. Given his injury history over the last couple of years and his recent lack of action, why are Heat fans so enamoured by his long-awaited return?
Truth be told, there are a number of reasons.
Firstly, when Miami acquired Victor at last season’s trade deadline, he was supposed to be the saviour to take the Heat back to the finals. Now though, he is seen as the final piece to add to an already elite squad with Championship aspirations. There is very little pressure on him to succeed this time around. Couple that with the minimum contract Miami signed him to in the 2021 off-season, and it seems to be a low-risk, high-reward situation for all parties.
Secondly, despite the small sample size, he excelled with the Heat last year while effectively playing off of just one leg. Oladipo has a long held admiration for the Miami Heat organisation, and it has always been reciprocated. His style of basketball perfectly embodies Heat culture and what this current group needs right now.
Thirdly, it’s because Miami‘s patience has paid off. No one in the Heat’s front office wanted a repeat of last year, or wanted to risk re-aggravating old issues. Both Miami and Oladipo took their time, got the best possible care, and have had tunnel vision with the end goal in mind. While many players returning from injuries are put on minutes restrictions, Coach Erik Spoelstra has spoken previously that Miami does not intend to put any limitations on Oladipo's playing time. When he's back, they want him to be fully back.
On a recent podcast episode with Zach Lowe, ESPN’s Jorge Sedano said of Oladipo: “I heard he looks fantastic, like, unbelievable…”
Now, I’m certainly no expert in the English language, but words such as ‘fantastic’ and ‘unbelievable’ are hardly passive. You don’t go around saying Oladipo looks 'fantastic' or 'unbelievable', if he’s just preforming how you’d expect him to.
His injury rehab has gone well; good. He’s knocking down shots in the shooting drills; great. He’s holding his own in 5-on-5 scrimmages; fab. All things you’d expect to see from a player after a lengthy layoff, but certainly not ‘fantastic' or 'unbelievable’.
Is it reasonable then to think the Heat are about to get an All-Star calibre version of Victor Oladipo? The blind optimists among Heat fans (and yes I’m including myself in that category) would say yes.
Vigorous workouts with Heat staff and runs with the Sioux Falls Skyforce have helped him regain some game-sharpness too, so Spo will have the luxury of using the former Indiana Pacer in any way he sees fit.
On a personal level, Oladipo has very little to prove in this league anymore, and both he and Miami have almost nothing to lose in adding him into the rotation of a group that’s already a first seed. If Oladipo is to co-lead the second unit alongside the remarkable performances of Tyler Herro, then the Heat’s bench could arguably make it to a home-court playoff seed by themselves. If he’s to step into the starting group in place of Duncan Robinson, the Heat will have the best defensive five in the NBA by some margin. It’s a win-win for all involved, and so the countdown to #DipoDay has Heat fans feeling like kids on Christmas Eve.
It feels like it’s been forever in the making, but with an Oladipo return just around the corner, who knows how far this team can go…
Comments