After a successful Day 1, the Miami HEAT got right back to work at The Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. Below are some tidbits you need to know from Day 2 of Training Camp Presented by Baptist Health South Florida.
Winslow's New Role
-Justise Winslow will certainly have an expanded role this season for the HEAT after showing flashes in his rookie campaign. As a whole, the 20-year-old showed no fear on the defensive end and continued to develop on the offensive side of the ball a year ago. Goran Dragic believes Winslow's experience last season has prepared him for what is to come.
” great. It helped that he played a lot of minutes last year. Last year was kind of an experience, you know, new league, new players, new team, first time in the NBA. But you can now see how comfortable he is right now, and that's going to get so much better and better. He already knows what he needs to work on, how he needs to play, and if you know how you need to play, then it's much easier.”
Similarly, Erik Spoelstra has liked Winslow's approach thus far in Training Camp.
“The thing about Justise he really cares. He understands the big picture. He's very committed as a young man and a professional to improve at his craft. That's very unique for a young player, but he doesn't have to listen to anybody else's expectations.”
“He's going to get more minutes, more responsibilities. I want him to embrace that in a healthy way and not have to try to live up to anything that's coming from the outside.”
Dragic Working on His Stroke
-Winslow and Dragic went head-to-head in a friendly three-point shootout after practice. When asked about his shot, the 30-year-old shared that he's made some tweaks to it.
“I changed a couple of things. It feels awkward at the moment, but that's because I changed the position of the ball. I still need to work on it, but it's getting there. It's not going to happen overnight, but I'm pretty confident that I'm going to shoot the ball well this year.”
Additionally, the Slovenian said that playing for his national team “helped a lot” and that he's “already in game shape.”
Williams Learning the HEAT Way
-While only with Miami for a short period of time, Derrick Williams already knows what the franchise is all about.
“Miami is always known for defense. Defense leads to offense and I think if we have a solid base on the defensive side, it just leads to easy points.”
Perhaps more importantly, Williams has the desire to be a two-way player.
“I've been around other teams where more offense has been focused, which is more towards my game, but I'm willing to switch that role and really get down on the defensive side and be a great two-way player. That's what I want to do. I want to be a great two-way player known around this league for doing both defense and offense.”
That will certainly please Coach Spo, who thought Williams looked better on Wednesday than on Day 1.
“He had a good day today. I think he was going a little too fast yesterday. He really wanted to make an impression. He was so eager. He came into camp in great shape. He slowed down today, let the game come to him a little bit more, and I liked what I saw.”
Injury Updates
-Josh McRoberts (right foot injury) and Stefan Jankovic (right foot sprain) did their work on the side in the “90 percent contact” practice on Wednesday morning, but were part of the non-contact practice on Tuesday night and will continue to go through those non-contact sessions for the time being.
