Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Power forward Justice Winslow finds himself on the perimeter more often now.
Team injuries shift power forward to the perimeter
NEW YORK — Justise Winslow is finding himself fighting at a lower weight class. He’s not sweating the situation.
Having started earlier this season at power forward, Winslow now finds himself playing more as Miami Heat perimeter option, with Tyler Johnson sidelined with ankle and Achilles issues and Dion Waiters awaiting seasonending ankle surgery.
“He’s adaptable,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Winslow, with his attention now shifted to Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, the third stop on this five-game trip. “He’s a player. He’s a winning-plays player. So he’ll find a way to make an impact on the game.
“He’s getting opportunities now that we have Tyler out, and probably more of those opportunities will be from the perimeter. But he just wants to be out there, regardless of whether he’s in the frontcourt or the backcourt.”
Winslow closed Wednesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center with six points. The scoring came on a pair of 3-pointers, including a crucial one amid the Heat’s fourth-quarter comeback.
“It’s the same,” Winslow said of moving to the perimeter, essentially now playing as the Heat’s backup point guard behind Goran Dragic. “You have a job. You’ve got to fit your game into the team scheme. But for me, I’m versatile enough to get the job done.
“So it’s just knowing what that position is trying to do out there. But it really doesn’t affect me mentality having to change position.”
Spoelstra said Wednesday was another step forward, Winslow’s third game back after missing 14 with a strained left knee. Spoelstra wound up playing Winslow for extended stretches in tandem with James Johnson, another utility-type contributor.
“He did a little bit of everything,” Spoelstra said of Winslow, “but you could see the versatility down the stretch, just in terms of what we could do defensively. A lot of Swiss Army knife guys that can switch, contain the ball.”
Winslow said he enjoyed the partnership, especially when he was able to alleviate the ballhandling pressure on Dragic.
“It helps everybody play,” Winslow said. “Everybody gets a chance to feel the ball and bring it or just get us into offense. But just being a guy that’s been more off the ball, it helps when you can bring the ball up.
“We got unselfish guys, so it’s going to be different guys different nights. So sometimes we don’t want Gogi on the ball, try to get him some action off the ball, get him some easier looks. We do a job of whatever Coach draws up, just go out there and try to execute.”
Winslow admitted relief when he hit his decisive late 3-pointer.
“It felt great,” he said with a laugh and smile. “It came at a big point in the game. My teammates trust me. I’m confident in myself. I wish I could have made some of the other shots, but I made it when it counted.”
Dragic’s chance
With the NBA All-Star starters revealed Thursday, the question now is whether the Heat will be represented at the Feb. 18 game at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
To Spoelstra, it likely comes down to whether conference coaches vote in Dragic, with the reserves to be announced Tuesday.
“I think if we started the season at the top four of the conference, I think now we’re on people’s radar a little bit more,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s what we talk about all the time. They’re so many residuals from winning, and a lot of that is recognition and respect around the league. I don’t think anybody was paying attention to us the first three months, and probably rightly so.
“I would say Goran is probably our lone candidate that could be considered as an All-Star. I don’t know if that will be viewed the same with everybody else around the league. I do know Goran is a great player, is a winner, is a champion. And when he plays at his highest level, our team feels that we can beat anybody.”