Most of us will be pretty surprised if Justise Winslow starts hitting a ton of three-pointers and overall jumpers next season. But the Miami Heat won’t be.
According to the Miami Herald‘s Barry Jackson, the team is pleased with all the progress he’s making as a perimeter scorer:
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.”
Becoming a better offensive threat is paramount for Winslow. The Heat need him to be more of a featured option following the departures of Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng. Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson will account for a lion’s share of the workload and shots, but Winslow’s development is crucial. He is already a great defender. A strong jumper is all that separates him from riding the fast track to stardom.
Correcting this issue over the course of one offseason is admittedly a lot to ask. Winslow shot just 27.6 percent from three as a rookie and wasn’t much better on shorter jumpers. He shot under 32 percent inside the paint and less than 35 percent from mid-range according to NBA.com. Not even his free-throw percentage (68.4) incited hope that he could improve by considerable margins before his sophomore season.
Still, Winslow is just 20 years old. Young players can effectively rework their stroke if they do so early enough. It’s when you wait around that a complete reconstruction, or wholesale tweaks, become a problem. That the Heat and Winslow are working to fix his warts now is only a good thing, even if it doesn’t yield immediate returns.
