Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Winslow ready to contribute
Coming off the bench means chance to reset
MEXICO CITY — Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow has already shown that he was far more mature than his age.
So it came as no surprise how well he handled when he was relegated to the bench earlier this season. Winslow took it in stride, knowing he could still find ways to contribute. His patience was rewarded Saturday when he had 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks in a 101-89 victory against the Brooklyn Nets.
“I didn’t really take it as a bad thing or a good thing,” Winslow said. “For me, I just see it as an opportunity to be even more of a play-maker with that second group, especially with the great spot-up shooters we have in Wayne [Ellington] and Tyler [Johnson]. I like that group. It doesn’t really matter to me [starting or coming off the bench].”
Playing with the reserves has allowed Winslow to ease into the flow of the game. The pressure to produce remains, but he is gaining comfort in the new role.
“I like all my teammates, but particularly with that group there’s a chance to make plays with everybody on the court as far as offensively,” Winslow said. “And defensively, just kind of quarterbacking and putting people in the right spots. I enjoy that role.”
Winslow has endured his share of ups and downs since entering the league in 2015, mostly with his shooting. It is a part of his
game he has constantly worked to improve. Although he’s battled inconsistency from the perimeter throughout his career, he made all four of his 3-point attempts against the Nets.
“Changed some things this summer and then obviously I had the slow to start to the season, but now everyone is just feeding me confidence,” Winslow said. “It’s a little making you feel awkward at times when they leave you so, so open. But I’m just going to continue to knock them down.”
What has impressed teammates the most is Winslow never gets discouraged during the struggles. He began this three-game road with an 0 for 4 performance against the San Antonio Spurs.
“It didn’t deter him,” forward James Johnson said. “We will never deter him. We know how hard he works. We want him to shoot those shots. It’s only going to open up more stuff for us on the floor.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra is completely fine with opponents giving Winslow open looks from the perimeter. The plan has never been about turning Winslow into a spotup shooter, but they feel he can eventually develop as a consistent outside scoring threat.
Spoelstra jokingly went as far as saying Winslow has a “light green light” from the 3-point line.
“I’ll continue to say this, it’s not about the shooting with him,” Spoelstra said. “Unfortunately this is probably when people will start to notice. I want that scouting report not to get out for a while because his shot, he put so much time into it in the offseason. It was already coming and we already knew that. Those open looks especially when nobody is closing out to him, he’ll make you pay for those.”
Winslow also received some words of encouragement from former teammate Chris Bosh, who was in Mexico City the weekend of the Nets game. Bosh served as a mentor during Winslow’s rookie season. They still talk about once a month.
“Just the game, checking in,” Winslow said. “Seeing how things were going, just talking about how I feel, my role and that sort of thing and just encouraging me to stay with it and keep putting in the work.”