Miami Heat: 3 concerns Erik Spoelstra must address heading into Game 4

Getting Goran Dragic off Marcus Smart – or scheming the matchup better

During the first two games of this series, Goran Dragic was arguably the second or third-best player on the floor. Averaging 27 points, five assists, and five rebounds on above 50 percent shooting from the floor, it’s no surprise that the Miami Heat took a 2-0 series lead. However, that changed in Game 3.

In Miami’s loss, Dragic struggled for most of the night, scoring only 11 points on 2-10 shooting from the field and 1-5 from 3-point range. A big part of that was Boston’s adjustment on defense which placed Marcus Smart almost exclusively on Dragic to begin the game.

If the Heat are going to win Game 4 (or even this series), Dragic is going to have to look more like the Dragic from the first two games of this series than the Game 3 version of himself. That could involve scheming Dragic open, or trying to get Smart to switch off Dragic in pick-and-roll opportunities or running Dragic through multiple screens.

Either way, Erik Spoelstra needs to find a way to make Dragic a bigger offensive factor in Game 4.