Mailbag: What will the Miami Heat do with Justise Winslow when Goran Dragic returns?
The weekly Miami Herald Heat mailbag is here to answer your questions.
If you weren’t able to ask one this time, send your questions for future mailbags via Twitter (@Anthony_Chiang). You can also email me at achiang@miamiherald.com.
@RichReport94: What does Miami do at point guard when Goran Dragic comes back?
Anthony Chiang: Good question. There are valid arguments that can be made for different solutions to this issue. Justise Winslow, 22, has been playing the best basketball of his NBA career as Goran Dragic’s replacement in the starting point guard role, but Dragic, 32, is still the Heat’s most reliable offensive player when healthy.
That’s what makes this situation so complicated. Does the Heat go with the proven veteran (Dragic) over the emerging talent (Winslow)? Or does Miami take the long view and give Winslow the bulk of the point guard minutes over Dragic? Or does coach Erik Spoelstra decide to start Dragic and Winslow together as the Heat’s backcourt, with Dion Waiters coming off the bench.
Here’s my prediction: When Dragic returns from knee surgery, which is expected shortly after the All-Star break, he plays his first few games as a reserve and Winslow continues to start. But once Dragic is ready, he returns to the starting lineup and Winslow returns to the bench. The Dragic-Waiters starting backcourt, or 7-Eleven, will be a thing … again.
It doesn’t really make sense to play Dragic and Winslow together because they are Miami’s best two point guards, especially with Tyler Johnson off the roster. It makes more sense to split them up. And the Dragic-Waiters combination seemed to work when both were completely healthy two seasons ago. The duo was a plus-42 in 808 minutes together in 2016-17.
But the Winslow-Waiters pairing hasn’t been bad either. It’s a plus-19 in 214 minutes together this season.
Another tough decision awaits Spoelstra after the All-Star break.
@EricJuratic: When is Ryan Anderson going to get some playing time?
Anthony: If one of the Heat’s frontcourt players (Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Bam Adebayo) sustains an injury, Anderson could see some minutes. It might even take two of them to go down for Anderson to get a spot in Miami’s rotation. Other than that, he’s just a depth player. Miami already has an established frontcourt rotation, and it’s going to take an injury or major foul trouble for Anderson to play meaningful minutes.
@Drunken_M0nkey: Why did we give up on Wayne Ellington? He made a franchise record in threes last year (not an easy one) and now he is gone.
Anthony: I get it. It seems like Wayne Ellington could have helped a Heat team that’s ranked 24th in offensive rating and 27th in team shooting percentage. But Spoelstra opted to play Miami’s two-way players over the three-point specialist. Could Ellington have helped in spots down the stretch? Sure. But Ellington also wanted a consistent role. So, parting ways made sense for both sides, with the trade working to reduce the Heat’s luxury tax bill.
This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 12:42 PM.
