Justise Winslow will be a lock down defender in the NBA. He practically already is. How many 19-year-old rookies do you say that about? Not many. He is so good on defense that Erik Spoelstra even put him at center a couple of times during the playoffs. He even said that he was prepared to cover all of the Cleveland Cavaliers wing players, including LeBron James.
What is he missing? Well, he didn’t show a very good shooting ability during his rookie year.
With Dwyane Wade gone, you can expect to see Winslow take on a much larger role on the offensive side of the ball. The only problem is that he was a bad shooter last year. He only made 31.1% of his jumpers, and defenses didn’t really need to guard him that tightly.
A Heat staffer recently told the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson that Winslow’s jump shot has improved:
The Heat is very encouraged by the progress Justise Winslow has made while working with a shooting specialist this summer. One Heat staffer said his stroke, release and rhythm are looking a lot better.
“You will see a major difference; he can be a special player,” that person said.
Winslow declined to identify the shooting coach but said he is “pretty pleased” with the results and that he’s working on his jumper during the early mornings and late at night.
The coach has made mechanical changes to his stroke, Winslow said: “Just smoothing things out. I am pretty confident. I like the way it’s going.”
Winslow has been working on his offensive game for some time now, but this is good news for the Heat and Heat fans. Winslow is a scary good defender, and if he can develop a solid jumper, watch out. With a good jump shot, he could be one of the best players in the league. He has the potential, now he just needs to put in the work to get to that point.
