Pregame Post-Ups: Heat Rising Up from the Bottom

BOSTON – Midway through the season, the Miami Heat were on track to challenge the Brooklyn Nets for the worst record in the league.

Thirty-one games later, they are on track to earn a postseason berth.

Miami was 11-30 through the middle of January, and, at the time, possessed the second-worst record in the league. It has gone 24-7 since Jan. 17, and ahead of tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics, it was ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.

“Their players and coaches deserve a lot of credit,” C’s coach Brad Stevens said ahead of tonight’s 6 p.m. tip-off. “It’s not easy to start 11-30 and be able to run off what they’ve been able to run off. And I think collectively they all have a tremendous resiliency to them to be able to do that.”

Miami’s resiliency was formed through its early-season troubles, according to coach Erik Spoelstra. Rather than let their frustrations get the best of them, the Heat used their dismal first half as a form of motivation.

They found a somewhat unlikely spark in guard Dion Waiters (out tonight with a sprained ankle), who has taken the opposition by storm throughout the second half of the season, along with a consistent offensive weapon in point guard Goran Dragic.

“We’re just trying to build habits on a daily basis,” said Spoelstra. “This team has developed some grit and some character, obviously, but our group developed that through a lot of tough losses.”

Because of its rough start, Miami hasn’t gained a lot of notice around the league this season. But it certainly has earned the attention Stevens and the C’s.

“I couldn’t be more of a fan when I’m watching an NBA team than I have been of watching Miami this year,” said Stevens. “I said early in the year that I thought Coach Spoelstra was doing some unique stuff with James Johnson with the ball as the primary playmaker that puts teams in bad predicaments, and that’s shown itself to the point where I think you see some of the actions that they’ve been doing around the league now. It’s a credit to him and how creative he is, and it’s a credit to all the players with how hard they’re playing.”

The last time Boston faced Miami was Dec. 30, when Isaiah Thomas went off for a career-high 52 points and propelled the C’s to a 117-114 win.

This is a much different version of the Heat, however, than the one that Boston faced three months ago. This version of the Heat is playing with much more grit and intensity, and has had no issue taking down top-notch teams throughout the second half of the regular season.

- Taylor C. Snow