Here comes Justise Winslow, the new face of the Miami Heat

Justise Winslow’s moment has arrived quicker than what was planned, but he’s ready to become the new face of the Miami Heat.

2016-17 Season Preview

The Miami Heat enter the 2016-17 season with plenty of uncertainty, but also truck loads of hope.

Hassan Whiteside was extended, Goran Dragic remains on the roster, Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson are both promising, and the Heat have a veteran coach in Erik Spoelstra that’s already led two teams to the promised land.

But the player with perhaps the most uncertainty, Justise Winslow, is also the one who provides the most promise.

Just 20 years old with one season under his belt, Winslow is still a tadpole in terms of professional experience. However, with Dwyane Wade now in Chicago, it’s time for a new star in South Beach. Who better to do just that than Miami’s own lottery pick?

The 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, Winslow was heralded as one of the best prospects coming out of college. His defensive prowess and lateral quickness caught the eye of NBA scouts early, and after a stellar performance in the NCAA tournament in which he averaged 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, one could make the case the Heat acquired an all-time steal.

Over the course of his rookie campaign, Winslow had his ups and downs just as every first-year player does. Scoring in double digits a mere 15 times over the course of 79 games played, it was clear from the get-go his offensive game was a work-in-progress. Hitting a total of just 32 three-pointers last season, his outside shot didn’t fare any better (27.6%), causing even more concern.

But Winslow’s put the work in this offseason. Countless videos, pictures and tweets have arisen over the span of the last four months that show the young swingman tirelessly working on his outside touch. Jump shot after jump shot, the ball keeps finding its way through the net. A sign of things to come? One can only hope.

Shedding the “D and no 3” label attached to him by many won’t be an overnight process.

What Winslow was asked to do last season–sliding in between Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng and later Joe Johnson–was very different than what he did at Duke. Here’s Upside and Motor’s Cole Zwicker:

"Winslow was predominately utilized at Duke manning the 4 spot in a space happy 4-out system surrounding Okafor’s interior scoring exploits. He was the go-to crunch time scorer, and often the primary initiator for the offense, allowing him to display his overall playmaking versatility as a handler, passer, and creator. In his rookie season, his on-ball usage and role utilization was the diametric opposite.Winslow finished 132nd out of 139 qualified wings per ESPN.com in usage rate at 11.9 percent last season. Only Kirk Hinrich, Andre Roberson, Alonzo Gee, Thabo Sefolosha, Kyle Singler, Anthony Brown and Tayshaun Prince used less possessions. For context , Stanley Johnson, Winslow’s mortal NBA twitter enemy, sported a 19.1 usage rate, good for 19th among ESPN qualified small forwards."

In other words, Winslow completely transformed his game in to what Miami needed last season: an eager, young talent willing to do the dirty work on a potential Eastern Conference contender.

Doing just that over the course of 2,232 minutes, he was still able to have an impressive impact on a contender as a rookie, something the likes of Karl Anthony-Towns, Okafor and Stanley Johnson (Winslow’s arch nemesis on social media) can’t say.

We saw countless flashes of promise, athleticism and ability during Miami’s bounce-back campaign last year. Even with the likes of Wade, Bosh and Dragic all top 80 in usage rate (Wade himself was eighth), Winslow still found ways to squeeze in plenty of glimpses of the versatile, athletic playmaker he aspires to be.

He had a breakout game against the Indiana Pacers in February, recording 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in Miami’s overtime win. Winslow showed not only that he could he be relied upon for defense and ball distribution, but he was a solid option in crunch time as well, calmly knocking down four clutch free throws during the final minute, essentially icing a Miami win.

With additional touches imminent and Dragic serving as the only primary ball handler, expect to see the rock in Winslow’s hands much more frequently.

Shedding five pounds over the summer after slightly changing his work-out regime, Winslow showed up at the 2016 Orlando Summer League looking quick and spry, and it didn’t take long to notice the tremendous improvement offensively, still boasting the same passing instincts Coach K instilled in him at Duke:

Defense? Impossible to forget.

Known for exactly that, Winslow’s defensive IQ was head-and-shoulders above any rookie in his draft class.

Winslow was credited with 2.7 defensive win shares by basketball-reference, comparable to Kawhi Leonard’s rookie season. He has good habits on the perimeter, including staying grounded on pump fakes. Matching up against the likes of Kemba Walker, LeBron James, James Harden and Paul George within his first 10 games is a daunting task for a 19-year-old rookie. But Winslow rose to the challenge.

Excellent lateral quickness, pin-point instincts and supreme mental toughness all make for an elite defender in this league. Just take a quick glance at Winslow defending Harden, one of the NBA’s premier scorers and the runner-up for Most Valuable Player in 2015:

Held without a field goal during the entire second half, Harden finished with just 16 points on just 2-for-15 shooting, missing all 10 of his attempts from beyond the arc. 12 of his points came by way of the free throw line, and Harden left the arena wondering just how he could let “Rook 1” lock him up in just his third game as a professional.

With the defense already there, it’s the offense that needs developing.

During this preseason, Miami beat the San Antonio Spurs in a 108-100 road win. Winslow knocked down 6 of his 12 field goal attempts (2-for-3 on three pointers) for 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Aggressive right from the tip, Winslow took advantage of whatever defender Popovich threw in front of him, scoring on a variety of drives and jumpers. Along with the help of Johnson, the Heat coasted over the Duncan-less Spurs.

A “swiss army knife” as some may call it, one of Winslow’s greatest attributes is the ability of filling whatever void or role that is asked of him. Adapting several times throughout last season, the Heat are now going to ask the same of the second-year player and then some.

With so many unexpected departures this summer, Winslow’s opportunity may have come quicker than he thought when he was initially drafted. It’s up to him to answer the call.

Justise Winslow, it’s your moment. Seize it.