Reviewing Justise Winslow’s Summer League Play
Justise Winslow is only a few Summer League games into his NBA career, but the rookie is already showing how he can help the Heat next season.
Winslow’s ability defensively is going to be his foundation in the NBA. He’s got grown-man strength and his body is NBA-ready right now. Watching Winslow go head-to-head against fellow rookie Stanley Johnson (who’s no slouch physically), you can see how much bigger his frame is in comparison. He uses his strength and body to deny penetration and keep taller players from posting him up.
Maybe the most impressive of Winslow’s attributes is his maturity, which is something Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra have raved about. The 19 year-old’s time spent playing for USA Basketball and at a national powerhouse like Duke will pay dividends in his adjustment to the NBA. Right now Winslow isn’t forcing anything on offense, instead allowing the game come to him.
Offensively, Winslow’s most noticeable attribute is his ability to get to the hoop. He’s reminiscent of James Harden in a way; left-handed, loves using the euro step and uses his forearms to initiate contact with his defender. He isn’t an explosive leaper, but he’s bailing himself out by drawing a lot of fouls when he’s in bad situations.
Most of the time, Winslow is playing the traditional shooting guard and small forward positions, but the Heat coaching staff is throwing a bunch of different scenarios at Winslow to see what sticks and just how versatile he can be. The team has asked him guard power forwards for short stints, although at 6′ 4″ Miami will have to get awfully creative if they want Winslow to play regular season minutes as a small-ball 4. Summer League coach Dan Craig is even allowing Winslow to bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense in certain situations, which is something you might see in the regular season if Winslow is leading the second unit.
Winslow isn’t a phenomenal athlete and he struggles to get separation off the dribble. Because he isn’t an explosive leaper, Winslow mostly relies on his strength to finish at the rim. At this stage in his career, Winslow isn’t a knockdown shooter and his lack of explosion leads to a lot of contested jump shots.
When the regular season roles around, the vast majority of Winslow’s playing time will come off-ball. He will be most successful offensively attacking the paint off the dribble while defenses are recovering from collapses against Goran Dragic pick-and-rolls. Opposing defenses will most likely guard against the dribble penetration and instead allow Winslow to take jumpers. The biggest question may be how well will the rookie shoot from NBA three-point range.
Coach Spo and the Heat organization traditionally don’t give rookies a ton of playing time, but Winslow’s defense, maturity and versatility should keep him in the rotation even when he struggles offensively.