Winslow vows strong comeback

Team split on whether to view playoffs

MIAMI — Justise Winslow has spent the past three months in the shadows. That long has been the Miami Heat’s approach with injured players.

But after his second NBA season first was hampered by a wrist injury and then shortened by January shoulder surgery, the 2015 first-round pick out of Duke warned not to count him out when assessing the franchise’s future.

“I’ve got some making up to do,” Winslow said at the team’s season-ending media session Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. “But I love challenges, so I don’t want an easy route. I don’t think anyone wants an easy route. Easy routes aren’t fun. Getting handed everything isn’t fun. So just go out there and play for it, fight for it, fight for what you want. Continue playing and believe in yourself.”

For now, limits remain on that aggression; full recovery from his Jan. 5 surgery to repair a torn right labrum was estimated at six months.

“I pretty much have gone through a good amount of individual basketball stuff, no contact yet,” the defensiveminded forward said. “My range of motion is pretty good, but it’s still getting stronger, only half way. They said six months, so it’s only halfway there, but I’m satisfied with the progress.

“The only thing I haven’t done as far as shooting the basketball is I haven’t really done right-hand layups and right-hand finishes.” That, for now, will have to wait. “I’ve got a lot of built-up, not anger, but just competitive nature and a lot of fumes I want to get out, even just offthe-court stuff,” he said. “There’s no way to really just go work out and blow off all the steam.”

Split attention

For some Heat players, watching the NBA playoffs remains too trying after missing out on a berth through a tiebreaker with the Chicago Bulls.

“I don’t even turn on my TV,” forward James Johnson said. “I’m still sick.”

Center Willie Reed snuck a peek and felt it might have been a mistake.

“I was kind of OK, until I turned on the playoffs and watched it a little bit,” he said. “Seeing Chicago win that game in Boston, I feel like we had a good chance to do something special, as well.”

But guard Tyler Johnson said he’s too much of a fan to abstain.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he said. “I said I wasn’t going to watch any of the games. I ended up watching almost all of them. It was just good to see the guys again.

“It wasn’t emotional in the sense of like, ‘Aw man, we should still be there.’ It’s like, ‘How do we get there?’ “

Tyler Johnson said friendship and a shared sneaker endorsement had him rooting for Dwyane Wade in the playoffs.

“Obviously what he’s done for this city and for this franchise, but at the same time that’s also my Li-Ning fam,” he said.

Dual plans

The Heat again have committed to play in the Orlando and Las Vegas NBA summer leagues . . .

Tyler Johnson said he plans to finally fill the gap in his smile with a replacement tooth. “It’s definitely about that time,” he said, “not even just for the look of it. It’s just because it’s going to mess up all my other teeth.” As for the shaggy hair and scraggly beard, Johnson said there are no immediate barber plans. . .

Of the Heat’s decision with his $6.3 million team option for next season, guard Wayne Ellington said, “I have a good feeling.”