Winslow laughs off idea of surgery.

Whiteside compares himself to ... Whiteside

MIAMI — Justise Winslow says it’s just a fashion accessory, so don’t make too much of it if you see him in public in a removable splint on his left wrist.

“This is just swag. I just wear it because it looks good,” the second-year Heat forward said of the leather brace he plans to use away from the court.

The brace is to protect the sore left wrist that had sidelined him for 16 games before Wednesday, when he returned in a 95-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

“I just like the way it looks now,” Winslow said.

Actually, the leather strap couldn’t be more mundane, as if he merely were an office worker with carpal tunnel.

“I wear it for some stability reasons,” he acknowledged, limiting his oncourt protection to a black-tape wrap. “But it’s just almost become second nature. I wear it all the time, wear it to sleep. Pretty much if I’m not working out, I’m wearing it.”

In discussing the splint earlier in the week, coach Erik Spoelstra said it’s part of the hope of avoiding a surgical solution.

Winslow made clear the subject of surgery hasn’t been broached.

“I don’t know what that word means,” he said. “I stay away from that word.”

He then returned to chiding about his situation.

“Because they got to put me to sleep,” he said of such surgery. “And I’m not doing all that.”

What Winslow is doing for the first time in a month is playing basketball, and that has him encouraged, even after being limited to two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 21 minutes Wednesday night.

“I could play a lot better, but it was good to be out there, and I guess help the team win,” he said.

The Los Angeles Clippers are up next in the third game of this season-longest six-game homestand that is off to a 2-0 start.

Winslow said it was difficult to assess rust.

“I didn’t really get in a rhythm, so I don’t even know if I could tell if I was rusty or not,” he said, as his field-goal percentage dropped to .331, falling to 6 of 28 on 3-pointers after missing his lone attempt. “But we won the game. That’s all there is.”

Winslow said he did not feel any discomfort.

“I never did,” he said. “If I did, I didn’t pay attention to it.”

What wasn’t an issue, in case Spoelstra elects to increase his minutes or return him to the starting lineup, was conditioning.

“I’m in crazy shape. Coach Foran was great in the weight room for us all, getting us in shape, keeping our wind right,” he said of strength coach Bill Foran. “I felt pretty good out there, but I didn’t really get in a rhythm.”

Spoelstra said Thursday that Winslow will remain in a reserve role.

“He’s been out a long time, and I want him to build his confidence,” he said.

More Whiteside

In the wake of his 26-point, 22-rebound performance Wednesday, Heat center Hassan

Whiteside said the only comparisons he chooses to make are to himself.

“I just compete against Whiteside every day,” he said. “I’m going to try to outdo myself [from] last game.”

He brushed off comparisons to Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.

“He catches lobs,” he said. “I shoot jumpers, catch lobs and block shots. I do a lot. He just catches lobs.”

Tyler Johnson ill

Backup guard Tyler Johnson was absent from Thursday’s practice with what the team said was an illness. He is listed as questionable for tonight . ... NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said there will be a moment of silence in NBA arenas in tribute to

Craig Sager, the colorful sideline reporter who succumbed to cancer Thursday at 65. The Heat’s tribute will come before the game tonight.

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Heat forward Justise Winslow looks to pass the ball against the Pacers during the second half Wednesday.