Justise Winslow and the Miami Heat’s rise to prominence shouldn’t have come when it did.
Near the start of a six game Western Conference road trip, the longest of its kind this season, Winslow took up point guard duties for the Heat. Without Goran Dragic to lead the team, Winslow was filling in as he did intermittently during the 2017-18 season.
His primary goal was to keep Miami’s offense flowing and its defense anchored. That was a tall order, especially against the then-16-8 Los Angeles Clippers.
Supersizing Winslow’s order that night was Tyler Johnson’s injury six minutes and 49 seconds into the first quarter.