Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t worried about Wayne Ellington’s preseason performance so far, despite not yet having found his stroke.
The Man With The Golden Arm; that’s what they call Miami Heat guard Wayne Ellington.
But unfortunately, his arm hasn’t been all that lucrative this preseason. Not yet anyways. In four games, he’s a measly 7-of-33 from the field, going just 4-for-24 from downtown. Yikes.
Almost embarrassing for a guy who averaged 10.5 points on 41.6 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond-the-arc last season. Except, not really.
Because it’s just preseason. And rotations aren’t yet set. And 20 guys are all trying to get their shine. Plus, head coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t worried. Generally, a good sign.
"“He’s ignitable. I play the odds on that. There’s going to be a game where he goes 8-for-10. Watch, he will. He’s a great shooter and he practices those shots that he takes.”"
And he wants the guard to keep taking them.
"“I want him to shoot more. The only thing I told him after Orlando is I hoped he would have taken 12 threes. Those were great looks.”"
In a loss to the Orlando Magic, Ellington finished with 6 points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field, going 2-for-11. But the 29-year-old isn’t concerned either.
"“I’m not concerned about it. Obviously, I want to make all of them, but I put in a lot of hours in the offseason. I know at the end of the day when it’s time to go, I’ll be ready.”"
Even if he’s not, the beauty of this current Heat team is its depth. While Ellington has been Miami’s 3-point specialist, guys like Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson can most definitely step up if needed to fill the void.
In 2016-17, Johnson shot 37.2 percent from the 3-point line. And so far, is 5-for-9 from downtown in preseason play. As for Richardson, he averaged 33.0 percent from beyond-the-arc last year, currently 6-of-9 over four games.
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Just like the Miami Heat’s preseason record of 2-2 isn’t indicative of their potential, Wayne Ellington will surely flex that golden arm once regular season play begins.