‘Justise is one of the players who moves the needle.’ Where does Heat miss Winslow most?
There’s still no clear timetable for forward Justise Winslow’s return. But it’s clear the Heat misses Winslow.
Winslow missed his 37th game of the season in Saturday’s road matchup against the Magic at Amway Center. The versatile wing has played in just one game since Dec. 6 because of a lower back bone bruise.
“Justise is one of the players who moves the needle for this team,” center Bam Adebayo said in advance of Saturday’s game in Orlando “We do miss Justise because he’s one of us. We know the impact he has on the court and what he has done and the things he has done in the past, and we miss that.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra said on Jan. 17 that Winslow would miss two weeks because of his back injury and then be re-evaluated. Friday marked two weeks since that date, and Spoelstra said Saturday there is no update on Winslow’s status.
Over the previous 26 games in which Winslow has missed all but one, the Heat has posted a 17-9 record but has taken a step back defensively. Miami has allowed 111.6 points per 100 possessions during this stretch, a defensive rating that ranks 22nd in the NBA during this 26-game window.
“He’s missed,” forward Derrick Jones Jr. said of Winslow. “With him on the floor, we can switch one through five with another player like him. His defensive presence on the floor is being missed. But we have to pick up the slack. It’s not an excuse. We just got to go out there and pick up the slack for what we’re missing with him. We just got to go out there and play defense.”
Winslow, 23, has played in just 11 games this season. He returned from a 15-game absence to play 16 minutes in a Jan. 8 road win over the Pacers, but he complained of continued discomfort in his back after the game and has been held out ever since.
Winslow has averaged 11.3 points while shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 22.2 percent on threes, 6.6 rebounds, and four assists this season. The Heat has outscored its opponents by 52 points in the 352 minutes Winslow has played.
Considered to be one of the team’s top defenders, he has limited those he has guarded this season to 38.7 percent shooting — 6 percent worse than their normal shooting percentage.
With Winslow on the court, the Heat has posted an elite defensive rating of 99.9 points per 100 possessions. For perspective, the Bucks entered Saturday with the league’s top team defensive rating for the season at 102.
Among Heat players who have played in at least 10 games this season, Winslow owns the top individual defensive rating.
“Justise is one of the most dynamic defenders in the league and he’s definitely one of our better defenders,” forward Udonis Haslem said. “Obviously, with him not being in our lineup, it takes away another guy that can go out there and lock down defensively. The more guys you can put one on the ball and he can take care of his matchup one-on-one, the better opportunity we have to defend guys five on five and not break down.”
Despite the void Winslow’s absence leaves behind, the Heat is using a patient approach with his recovery.
“We want him to get 100 percent healthy,” Adebayo said, “and when he gets 100 percent healthy, we’ll have Justise Winslow back. I know he misses it. I know he’s eager to get back. But I prefer him to take his time and be 100 percent, rather than him rush into it and be 75 percent and get re-injured.
“You can tell he misses it. He comes to practice every day. He just sits there, he helps and he tries to do everything to the best of his ability that he can non-physical. I feel like he’s handling it well. I feel like he’s taking it full on, just really trying to get his body back. He’s going two times a day, three times a day just to try to rush the process.”
TIME OFF
With Friday’s win over the Pistons, Raptors coach Nick Nurse clinched his spot as the Eastern Conference All-Star coach to lead the team that Giannis Antetokounmpo drafts on Thursday. That means Spoelstra was eliminated from contention.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is ineligible to coach in the All-Star Game this year because he did so last year, so the coach of the team with the second-best record in the East at the Sunday cut-off date earned the assignment. The Heat entered Saturday in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the second-place Raptors.
“We would have loved to have been able to keep the second spot right now,” Spoelstra said of not coaching in the Feb. 16 All-Star Game. “We don’t love being in fourth. But it will be a good opportunity just to unplug.”
▪ Guard Kendrick Nunn (bilateral Achilles soreness) was back in the Heat’s starting lineup Saturday against the Magic. Nunn missed the previous three games.
“He trusts the whole staff and the whole process of when his ankle, Achilles wasn’t feeling right to make sure that he felt normal again,” Spoelstra said. “He has put in a lot of work behind the scenes. We’ve missed him, certainly. Thankfully, he hasn’t been out for an extended period of time. With yesterday’s practice and this morning, hopefully it will be comfortable for him.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
