Miami salutes work by key duo
Wade ‘proud’ of Richardson and Winslow in series.
Miami Heat coach MIAMI — Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons deservedly have received most of the attention in this first-round playoff series. But Miami also has been pleased with its own young duo of Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow. Trailing the Sixers 3-1 in the series entering Tuesday’s Game 5, this is at least one bright spot for the Heat.
“I’m proud of those guys,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said after Saturday’s loss. “Justise is doing whatever it takes. This is the moment you want a Justise Winslow on your team. He’s a guy that has no ego and he’s going to play his heart out. He’s going to do all of the little things that may not get the headlines. When we point at a guy who has done it right this whole series, we point at Justise.
“Josh has definitely grown a lot. He still has so much room to grow. He shows flashes of greatness. He shows flashes of doing things that not a lot of players can do. We just want to continue to build on that for him.”
Winslow’s energy and decisiveness in the series have been impressive. The 22-year-old versatile forward is averaging 9.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocks off Miami’s bench through the first four playoff games. Defensively, Winslow has been dominant. He’s limited the player he’s guarding to 34.7 percent shooting in the series — 12.3 percent worse than their normal shooting percentage.
The 24-year-old Richardson also has made an impact. He’s limited the player he’s guarding to 30.6 percent shooting in the series — 16.7 percent worse than their normal shooting percentage. Richardson is also averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals through the first four playoff games.
Both players have been somewhat inefficient offensively. Winslow is shooting 36.4 percent and Richardson 38.5 percent in the series.
The good news for the Heat is that both players, who were drafted in 2015, are under contract past this season. Winslow is set to make $3.5 million next season, and the Heat have until Oct. 31 to decide if they want to keep Winslow by extending his contract beyond 2018-19. Meanwhile, Richardson is under contract with the Heat for the next four seasons after signing a four-year, $42 million extension last offseason.
“In their third year, I like the way they’ve approached it,” Wade said. “I just want them to continue growing and continuing to get better. The sky is the limit.”
‘As the game gets more intense, the context of the game goes to that level, (Dwyane Wade) becomes more calm.’
Erik Spoelstra