Justise Winslow has made his Memphis Grizzlies debut 381 days after his trade from the Miami Heat back on Feb. 8 of 2020 — back when the NBA was oblivious to the virus and still had full crowds.
Winslow was expected to play during the NBA Bubble but suffered a hip injury during practice leading into the Bubble and was shut down for the rest of the season. The Grizzlies announced that Winslow would make his long-awaited return and debut for the Grizzlies against the Phoenix Suns.
Winslow adds a lot to the Grizzlies on paper. In his limited playing time (only 245 games in five seasons) with the Miami Heat, Winslow was considered a cornerstone piece (drafted 10th overall in the 2015 Draft) before his continued health issues.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow finally returned to the court against the Phoenix Suns after missing 381 days of NBA basketball.
Winslow showed in Miami that he is a very good perimeter defender, an above-average playmaker for a forward and a solid inside scorer.
The peak of this was the “Point Justise” saga that occurred in the 2018-2019 season when Goran Dragic was injured for 17 games. Winslow averaged 15.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, even going toe to toe with Kawhi Leonard in that stretch.
Winslow has continually been injured, preventing him from growing as a player and while serving as a primary reason for being traded to the Grizzlies for a disgruntled Andre Iguodala last season. Now that trade finally gets some perspective as Justise Winslow has finally made his debut, so how did he look?
As expected, Winslow struggled in some areas of his game. Winslow was a minus-23 in 21:14 minutes. However, most of the struggles weren’t Winslow’s fault as it was a schedule loss for the Grizzlies. The rust of not playing a real NBA game for over a year was evident as he finished the game going 3-of-14 from the field.
Justise Winslow's shot chart pic.twitter.com/jxw9aCI7li
— Lachlan Everett (@LachieEverett) February 21, 2021
Many of those missed shots were makeable. He short-armed layups, his jump shots just missed the mark, he lacked the lift he usually has and missed 2-of-4 free throws.
Winslow ended his debut with nine points and seven rebounds, plus a couple of passes that could have been turned into assists but just didn’t drop. But, the most promising stand out from his debut was his stellar defense.
Ignoring the numbers or the film, the biggest thing that stood out was that when Winslow checked into the game, he was immediately tasked with guarding Devin Booker.
Winslow guarded Booker for 3:12 minutes and 10.2 in partial possessions, forcing two turnovers and allowing 10 points (2-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from three) per NBA.coms tracking data.
Nobody will stop Booker from scoring, but defenders can make it difficult and that’s exactly what Winslow did. Winslow also poked the ball away from Chris Paul twice. Not many people can do that. Winslow’s overall smarts, size and speed allow him to guard 1-through4 on most nights.
Winslow spoke post-game about guarding Booker:
"“That’s where I hang my hat at the end of the day – defense… I get thrown right back in the fire, right on one of the league’s most elite scorers. But those are the challenges I relish.”"
Going forward Winslow will need more reps and time to get the rust off and build chemistry with his teammates on the court. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game that “I just want him to be a playmaker out there”, and said initially he will be coming off the bench.
The Grizzlies have a slew of very good perimeter defenders and playmakers on their roster. They’ve now added another one mid-season, a good way to keep a team engaged and motivated to win even on mid-week back-to-backs.
The upside of a playmaking defensive-minded wing is worth the risks the Grizzlies took to acquire him. The only question is does Justise Winslow stay healthy?