Rookie Assessment with Dan Craig

After the Miami HEAT's 86-83 loss to the Denver Nuggets, their first of the summer, HEAT.com caught up with Summer League head coach Dan Craig to discuss the team's two draft picks, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson.Couper Moorhead: Do we have to hold a wake for the end of the Dan Craig Unbeaten Streak? Dan Craig: [Laughs] It was a game I thought we could have pulled out, but the kid just made a great shot. Well, even though this run won’t be going down in history, you’ve been doing this for a few years now. Do you still get any nerves being the head guy? I think very similar to a lot of the players, once you get into the game, you’re not thinking about what could go wrong or how big of a scene it is. You’re more just focused on coaching the team and staying the course. So you lucked into Justise Winslow a little bit, and what’s stood out of the most so far is you’re using him just about everywhere. He’s played one through four, running the point, playing off ball, working in the post, playmaking. Is he just the prototypical jack-of-all-trades type of player to you? Pretty much. It’s been a really great process for him, and we have had guys that are out that primarily would be our handler – Shabazz, Tyler – so we have had situations where we’ve been able to move him around. He brings that versatility where you can post him, you can run some catch and shoots for him, at times he can handle. He makes really simple, solid plays as well. Him and Josh [Richardson] both. Is Justise’s court vision better than it might have been advertised at Duke where he was mostly playing the four? I think so. He has a very rare and unique ability – when he gets into the paint he slows down and he stays on his feet and he’s able to make really simple, solid plays. Most of the time, you see younger players get up in the air and then they try to make decisions. That’s where they get caught and end up turning the ball over a lot. Justise doesn’t do that. He’s very crafty, he can kind of dance around the defense, stay on his feet and make solid plays. We could see that a little when he was the primary handler in Orlando. Without actually comparing him to these players, he did seem to have a distinct rhythm to him. He makes it seem like he’s not going anywhere, and then he’s right by you. Yeah, he’s very good at attacking angle. If he sees a gap, he doesn’t go around it to hit it, he goes through it. And when defenders do step up, he has that two-step ability where he can bounce around them. And he can make plays and finish at the rim. How uncommon is that in a 19-year old? Very. Very uncommon. Usually you see guys try to get to their launching pad. Generally in high school and college, they can get to their launching pad and make plays over the rim. At this level you got the shot blockers and guys a little bit bigger, more athletic. That’s where it becomes so vital to stay on your feet and make those plays. For him to do that, at his age, with little experience, is very impressive. So from the way you’re describing him, because he has his own internal pace, he’ll adjust quicker than other guys would?I think he’s already fast-tracked in that regard, so he can make that jump quicker than most. I think that that’s very rare in that situation, to slow down when you get into the paint. I think he’s ready to take the next step and see the other layers to it. What’s being on a team with all these 30-year olds going to do for him? He’s coming to a team where we have a lot of high IQ superstars, so that’s going to be amazing for him. Just fastracking. They’ll really help him, and bring him along quicker than probably most situations for younger players. It’s almost a coaching dream, in a sense, to actually get an elite young talent in such a veteran atmosphere? We remind some of our veterans, Dwyane [Wade] and Chris [Bosh], you’re an extension of our coaching staff. You’re coaching the guys on the court. Certain situations they’ll see defensively or offensively, the spacing, those guys will really help fast track him. For sure.[[{"fid":"152223","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Josh Richardson","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Josh Richardson"},"type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"Josh Richardson","title":"Josh Richardson","class":"media-element file-default"}}]] With Josh [Richardson], his defense seems to separate him, far and away, from a lot of other guys here [in Las Vegas]. He seems to be of a different caliber, defensively. Yeah, I agree. He’s an elite defensive player, for that position. He has a skill set defensively where he can move his feet really well, but he’s long. And he’s super active. He never really takes himself out of position. He stays in place. And he just gets up into the air space of players and makes them uncomfortable. There was a play [against Denver] in transition where he was trailing the ball, sprinting, and instead of chasing all the way into the paint to try and get the block, he weaved off into the corner to stop the kickout pass. That seemd like a really mature rotation, instead of going for the highlight play he just went to the right spot. We’ve been drilling our rotations a little bit. Not only is he a high-level defender, he’s got a pretty good IQ. I think he’s caught on to what we do defensively, and I think he also just has a really good knack and feel for it, too. What do you need to see for him continue to grow? To continue to build on what he’s shown us in Summer League. To make easy plays, when he’s in pick-and-roll triggers. To get up and guarding one-through-three defensively, depending on who we’re playing, just locking that guy down and pressuring him 90 feet. And just being a consistent shooter. Just with the way the game is going today, you have to be able to help space the court for your best players. Has his shot taken strides since he was drafted? The mechanics look a little smoother than they did at Tennessee. He put in a lot of work before the draft, and even in his senior year. He’s worked with some of our staff members, kind of fast tracked some teaching points with the shooting. He’s done a good job with his mid-range, and he hasn’t taken a lot of threes but statistically he’s got to be at least high 30’s. Now that we’re pretty deep into the summer season, what more do you want to see from the team? Just continue to get better. Continue to use this as a learning experience to help better their situations, whether it’s more playing time, whether it’s making the team, whether it’s going somewhere else and making another team. Just trying to encourage those guys to be better basketball players. Obviously you want them to be better for your team, but it sounds like ultimately you just want to help make them better for their careers. Absolutely. If you take the big picture and approach it that way, the guys who are going to be on your team are going to get better. Obviously we’re putting them in situations that we think we’ll be in next year. And you already helped a guy this year, in Willie Reed (who got a contract with Brooklyn during Orlando Summer League). Exactly. That’s what it’s about. Just making these guys better.