Dion Waiters was not very happy after logging just 12 minutes in the Miami Heat's blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
The Heat, who had been enjoying a rich vein of form ahead of Tuesday's showdown, suffered a humiliating 124-86 loss on the road. And Waiters, who scored just two points in his 12 minutes on the floor, was in no mood to listen to any talk regarding patience following some unwanted advice from head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Spoelstra had urged the player to remain patient and bide his time after recently returning from a bad ankle injury that kept him out for nearly a year.
RELATED: ERIK SPOELSTRA URGES DION WAITERS TO REMAIN PATIENT FOLLOWING RETURN FROM INJURY
"My big word for him is patience," the coach said prior to the game. "But I like the work that's been putting in, and the minutes that he's played have been good and important for us."
Waiters seemed to buy into what Spoelstra had preached. But, amid the frustrations brought about by Tuesday's loss, the shooting guard threw all of that out the window.
"F**k patience!” he exclaimed, according to the Miami Herald. “I want to play. I’ve been patient long enough. What do I got to be patient for? Come on man. I’ve been patient. I think everybody knows that. It’s time. What are we waiting for? If I’m out there, play me.
“The next step is being back in the starting lineup, s**t like that. Patience has run out. I’m tired of this. Get back to my regular self.”
Meanwhile, Justise Winslow, who scored 19 points on the night, has accused the team of giving up after the fell behind by 20.
“Guys looked like we didn’t want to be here when we were down 20,” the makeshift point guard noted. “We can’t have that. Guys got to want to compete from 20, [30] down. We became disconnected.”
What This Means
Waiters isn't used to being on the bench this long after starting in 73 of the 76 games he played for Miami in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns. He hasn't started a single game since returning from injury and the Heat's depth hasn't helped out either.
Spoelstra has 13 players averaging more than 16 minutes a night and 11 registering more than 20. The coach clearly doesn't believe that Waiters is ready to take on more minutes than he's being handed but that should change as the season wears on.
NEXT: TURKISH GOVERNMENT REPORTEDLY SEEKING ARREST WARRANT FOR ENES KANTER