A pair of Heat forwards who spent much of the 2016/17 campaign on the sidelines will be competing hard for a starting role, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Expect Josh Richardson to put up a fight for a shot at the three, while Dion Waiters fills in at shooting guard.
Of course Richardson’s path on the depth chart is blocked by Justise Winslow, another individual expected to compete like crazy for the role, and to an extent, Rodney McGruder.
Last season Richardson averaged 10.2 points per game while Winslow added 10.9 of his own. In addition to modest offense both players provide length and versatility.
“Wherever [Erik Spoelstra] wants to take this positionless game, it can be real small, with him playing five on down to three point guards with Justise at four [or three bigs],” team president Pat Riley said.
There’s more out of Miami this evening:
- A Boston beat writer isn’t all that impressed with some of the contracts on Miami’s payroll but A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England does add that the addition of sharpshooting Kelly Olynyk could bode well for the Heat considering Hassan Whiteside‘s lack of an outside game.
- The Heat have gotten flak from fans for taking Justise Winslow ahead of Devin Booker in the 2015 NBA Draft but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reminds readers that there isn’t much point to looking back on such situations in hindsight, especially considering the club had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on board at the time as well.
- The Heat were fortunate to have Wayne Ellington step up and play a significant part in their turnaround last season but the forward could see his role decrease slightly considering that Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow are expected to be back at full health, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes.
Shaun Powell/ NBA.com also took it to the Heat’s contracts. Only winning will solve this media problem. Actually I think obnoxious Miami fans are the source of discontent (Winslow was a reasonable call, always rated higher than Booker).
Not fair to compare Winslow to Booker, completely different players.
Sure, Booker is more dynamic, but Winslow offers much more defensive versatility and inside game. I think a team can justify drafting either one ahead of the other based on how they want to play.
Well I mean devin booker is a potential top 5 NBA player and Winslow while an amazing defender will probably end up being a more offensively challenged jimmy butler. Both good but I’ll take booker and top 5 potential anyday. However at the time of the draft almost everyone would take Winslow over booker
Only bad contract is Olynyk. Considering its the 7483936292475th time I’ve had to see the Winslow/Booker garbage, it’s useless to even acknowledge any further than this. So ridiculous
Devine Booker ranked 90th in 3 pt. shooting percentage in the NBA at 36% last season. Four players on the Heat shot higher 3pt. % ; Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington, and Luke Babbit. Booker is a poor defender. Winslow, on the other hand is a superior defender and in his rookie year held the likes of Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and Bradley Beale below their average shooting percentage. Consider as well, Winslow started at small forward playing next to all stars Wade, Deng and Joe Johnson and was not even an option on offense. His second season he played 18 games with an injured shooting hand and then was injured and out for the season. Winslow is underrated and Booker is way overrated. Heat made the right pick.
No reason to get into it for the umpteenth time. Let stupid people complain and let them be the same people that talk him up when he “breaks out,” with health. His handle was significantly improved last year, which should help him by itself. Now that his wrist is healthy, his shooting could definitely take a step forward. He was shooting it way better before he hurt the wrist last year, and then the old mechanical habits started to show themselves. We obviously don’t even need to discuss his defense.