Miami Heat: Is this as good as it gets for Justise Winslow?

Is this the best fans can hope for from Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow?

Last April, a new version of the Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow was born.

While averaging 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game in 24.8 minutes of play during the team’s first round playoff battle with the Philadelphia 76ers may not seem all that impressive, another side of the forward came out.

Those five games brought forth Playoff Winslow, a hard-nosed, gritty go-getter, who left it all out on both sides of the court.

He was a sight to be seen, and even seemingly surprised himself with how high of a level he was performing at.

So despite the team’s premature postseason exit, fans had plenty to be excited about, starting first and foremost with the inevitable continuing growth of Winslow.

Unfortunately however, Playoff Winslow appears to have been left behind with the memories of yesteryear (alongside Joel Embiid and Hassan Whiteside trolling one another).

Because so far this year, he has underwhelmed.

Now it may not necessarily be obvious from looking at his numbers alone.

After all, over 16 matchups, he’s currently averaging 9.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assist, in 27.4 minutes of play; stats that imply improvement in comparison to 2017-18, when he averaged 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

But he also played an average of 24.7 minutes, over 68 total contests.

The eye test tells a very different story too.

AllUCanHeat’s very own Rahmeaun Rahming said it best, when he described the fourth-year as a bull in a china shop, after the Heat’s 115-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday evening.

While Winslow finished the game with a respectable 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 26 minutes, his 5-of-9 shooting from the field included a few missed layups; shots that could have easily been made, had the forward had more control over the ball.

Really, the former Duke star’s Monday night narrative is pretty indicative of his 2018-19 run so far; not half bad on paper, but marked by inconsistency.

And it all really comes down to a familiar foe: his shooting.

Having missed more than half of Miami’s October campaign, Winslow is averaging 36.4 percent shooting from the field in November. This includes going 3-for-10 on November 5 against the Detroit Pistons and on November 25 versus the Toronto Raptors, as well as 4-of-13 on November 9 in a loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Not ideal.

The question is, what gives?

It’s no secret that the 22-year-old has always been better known for his defensive efforts, rather than his ability to knock down shots.

But perhaps there’s more to it than that.

Maybe head coach Erik Spoelstra’s so-called positionless basketball system is hindering his development. Because as fun as Point Winslow may be in theory, it’s certainly not helping the Houston-native work on his shooting.

Especially now that both Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson continue to be sidelined with injury, and the Heat have no traditional backup point guard to rely on.

At 7-13, Miami has plenty on its plate to worry about, but it’s safe to say that getting Winslow to be more productive offensively, would solve some of the team’s problems.

Fingers crossed that the Miami Heat forward hasn’t hit a wall.