Justise Winslow 2017-18 Season Rundown

After missing most of last season with a torn labrum, Justise Winslow bounced back in a big way in 2017-18.

Not only did he continue to thrive as a playmaker for Miami (especially during the second half of the year), but he also started to hit the three-ball with more regularity. In fact, the former Duke Blue Devil shot 38 percent from beyond the arc and set career highs in overall field goal percentage, rebounds per game and blocks per game.

Speaking of blocks, Winslow continued to be a savant on the defensive end with a 102.1 DRTG (tied for best on the team with Bam Adebayo) and held the opposition to 2.3 percentage points less than their usual field goal percentage.

In other words, it was a pretty solid season for one of the HEAT’s most intriguing players.

Let’s look back at some notable games from the point forward.

This was a fun one for Winslow, as he got into a groove early on and never looked back.

With the Nets playing the drive, Winslow wisely took advantage with a career-high four treys and didn’t miss a single shot from deep.

Of course, he also did his thing on the defensive end against Quincy Acy, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert.

In all, Winslow scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbed six boards and blocked two shots.

Winslow’s ability to do it all never gets old.

That was on full display in this matchup, considering he finished a bunch of plays around the rim and also made it tough for the Pistons to score.

How so?

Well, Winslow held his assignments to just 6-of-16 shooting on the night and competed very hard against Blake Griffin more often than not.

When it was all said and done, Winslow tallied 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a team-high plus-20 rating.

While Winslow was a menace in this game with six contested shots, five deflections and two recovered loose balls, one moment stands out the most.

With 20 seconds left to play and the HEAT firmly in control, it seemed as though that was all she wrote.

But it wasn’t.

There was a nine-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, so Winslow made his move from the left wing and proceeded to throw down a massive one-handed jam over Marquese Chriss to end things for good.

Winslow ended up with 12 points, 12 boards, five assists, four steals and a plus-13 rating.

Even though Winslow had a quiet start to this one and picked up a tough foul early in the fourth, he flipped the script and helped the HEAT come away with the victory.

In addition to blocking Robert Covington twice in the final period, he also hit two huge threes and fed Hassan Whiteside with a remarkable pass down the stretch.

As Coach Spo likes to say, it’s all about making winning plays.

Thanks to Winslow’s late flurry, he finished with nine points, six rebounds, two assists and a plus-11 rating to go along with his aforementioned two blocks.

“The Swiss Army Knife” is such a fitting moniker for Winslow, isn’t it?

The Bulls saw that up close and personal in this contest, as the 22-year-old left Chicago looking for answers early and often.

From a rifle pass to Kelly Olynyk to an outstanding block on David Nwaba, Winslow had it all going on.

In total, Winslow accumulated 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, a team-high nine rebounds, two assists and a steal in addition to his block on Nwaba.