In this week’s Miami Heat 1-on-1, two AllUCanHeat contributors talk all about sharp-shooter Wayne Ellington.
Be honest, how did you first feel about Wayne Ellington when he initially signed with the Miami Heat, and what are your thoughts on him now?
Rahmeaun Rahming (@Boneman9000): I had no clue who Wayne Ellington was at first. I even missed when the signing happened. Ellington was the pure definition of an NBA journeyman. He was able to stay in Minnesota for his first three years as a part of his rookie deal. But by the time he got to Miami, he had already played for six different franchises. Can anybody say, Steve Blake? Last week, I saw a throwback game of the Minnesota Timberwolves versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on NBA TV. I tuned in at about the third quarter and was excited to see Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Ellington, all on the court at the same time. The game was intense and went into overtime, but you know what Ellington contributed besides spacing? Nothing. Although he was always a good shooter, I didn’t see him make any shots. So from my point of view, he was just there to space the floor for Kevin Love.
Imran Ebrahim (@iebrahim81): Growing up and watching the Heat play, I became accustomed to seeing the snipers that have built the rosters over time. James Posey, James Jones, Jason Kapono, Daequan Cook, Shane Battier, Ray Allen… So when the Heat signed Ellington to be the sniper for the future, I was pretty hyped up. Obviously, in smaller sample sizes, he was shooting upwards of 37 percent from the 3-point line. The only thing that worried me was if he would be able to stick around that percentage with a much larger role. So far, he’s been nothing short of spectacular. In the two years before he joined the Heat, he was shooting 37 percent and 36 percent from the arc, but on roughly 3.5 3-pointers a game. In the last two years with the Heat, Ellington has shot 38 percent and 39 percent, on almost double the attempts.