The Miami Heat have just as good a chance as any team at being the second-best Eastern Conference team this season. With Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade seemingly healthy, along with talents like Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, and a revamped bench that includes the likes of Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire, Miami is deep and talented at all positions.
Luol Deng will be the starter at small forward, but he will be pushed by Justise Winslow, the Heat’s first round draft pick out of Duke.
At 6’7, Winslow is kind of between a shooting guard and small forward but, either way, he has the skills to be an effective NBA player. Winslow showed tremendous athleticism and great defensive ability at Duke in their national championship season, so he should make an impact at that end right away. Offensively, however, Winslow might have a bigger learning curve. Fortunately for him, D-Wade has already begun teaching him one of the most underrated parts of his Hall-Of-Fame career: the post game.
Here’s Wade on teaching Winslow the fine art of back-to-basket scoring courtesy of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman:
“It’s just passing down knowledge to someone who I think could be good at things I think I have strengths at,” Wade said after the tutorial. “It’s going to take a while. But if he figures it out at 21, he’s ahead of the curve. I figured it out at like 27. So I’m just trying to help him get ahead.”
If Winslow can implement a post-up game into his arsenal at a young age it will certainly help him, especially considering he isn’t the greatest jump shooter.
Wade, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan are among the greats who played guard but still utilized the post-up game. Before Winslow’s time, there were the likes of Dennis Johnson and Oscar Robertson.
Winslow is in a great spot, getting to play on a good team and learn from veterans like Wade. Even if he doesn’t make a huge contribution to Miami right away in his rookie season, just being able to learn the game from a player like D-Wade will without a doubt help him going forward in his career.
