Winslow (wrist) returns after 16-game absence

MIAMI — It took a month, but Justise Winslow is back.

Winslow was available Wednesday against the Pacers after missing 16 games with a sprained left wrist. He started the game on the bench.

This comes after Winslow made significant progress in his recovery over the past few days. The 20-year-old went through his first shootaround Monday and his first full-contact practice Tuesday since going out with the injury.

We d n e s d a y m a r k e d Winslow’s first game since the Heat’s loss in San Antonio on Nov. 14.

Winslow will wear tape on his left wrist on the court, and coach Erik Spoelstra said Winslow could have to wear a bulkier brace on his left wrist off the court for the rest of the season. But the Heat hope Winslow’s extended time off will help him avoid surgery on the injured wrist down the road.

Enter ing Wednesday ’s game against Indiana, 12 Heat players (including Chris Bosh) have combined to miss 103 games because of injuries over the first 25 games of the season. But Wednesday, the Heat had 13 players available — the most they’ve had this season.

Other than Bosh, Dion Waiters was the only Heat player not available Wednesday. Waiters is still recovering from a pectineus tear in his right groin area.

The 2 5 -ye a r- ol d g u a rd missed his 10th consecutive game Wednesday. He has not played since Miami’s home loss to Memphis on Nov. 26.

“It feels good now,” Waiters said before Wednesday’s game. “I haven’t run. I jog and things like that and it feels good, just a little sore. Hopefully, I’ll get a full jog and full sprint, just make sure it’s fine. I want to be back out there. I hate this sitting-out stuff.”

Waiters’ injury was re-evaluated this week and he said t he re s ul t s were “pre t t y much the same.” But he hopes that doesn’t mean he’s going to have to miss a lot more time.

“I hope not. I never sat out this long, man,” Wait- ers said. “It’s just kind of bothering me I can’t be out there on the court. I’m just trying to get healthy.”

Former Heat assistant says James couldn’t coach: LeBron James can do it all on the basketball court.

But Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale believes there’s one thing James probably shouldn’t do — coach.

“He would kill somebody,” Fizdale said to reporters before the Grizzlies played the Cavaliers on Tuesday. “Perfection is like (his standard). He wants perfection. I could see him actually owning his own team and doing something like that, but I think he would end up killing a player at some point because they wouldn’t live up to the expectations he would set forth.”

Fizdale knows James better than most coaches, as he coached the 12-time AllStar for four seasons with the Heat. James led Miami to the NBA Finals all four seasons, winning two titles with Fizdale as an assistant under Spoelstra.

Although Fizdale credits Spoelstra with a lot of his success in coaching, James is not far behind.

“I think he coached me more than I coached him,” Fizdale said of James. “You’re talking about a 1-percentile guy when it comes to basketball intelligence. I think I learned more from him than he learned from me, and he just sees the game very clear. It’s really in slow motion.”

Fizdale remembers James’ work ethic in Miami as “second to none.” In his four seasons with the Heat, James ave ra ge d 2 6.9 poi nt s on 54.3 percent shooting, 7.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists.

“H i s t o t a l i nve s t men t was like a 9 to 5,” Fizdale said. “Most athletes don’t approach it that way. He did. And he really took pride in what he ate, how hard he worked with his body, how he maintained, the way he lifted, everything — the way he watched film.

“When I’m not playing against him, I have a lot of pride because of our relationship and the investment I made in him and he made in me.”