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In the thrilling Miami Heat victory, or disappointing Los Angeles Lakers loss for California fans, the game-winning basket by Goran Dragic, along with his game high 30 points, cemented his role as the primary driver for the win.
Looking back at the numbers for the game, another player’s contributions jumps out as a vital cog in Miami’s single-point comeback triumph: Justise Winslow.
How could a player who went 1 for 8 from the field impact the game in a meaningful and winning fashion?
The answer comes his new role as a facilitator and creator on offense, and a lockdown defender on the other end against the Lakers.
For the game as a whole, Winslow had the top Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, Net Rating and Assist Ratio.
Net Ratings For Game
| Player | OffRtg | DefRtg | NetRtg | AST Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | OffRtg | DefRtg | NetRtg | AST Ratio |
| Justise Winslow | 106.1 | 74.4 | 31.7 | 33.3 |
| Wayne Ellington | 92.8 | 79.8 | 13 | 10.6 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 87.4 | 85.4 | 2.1 | 0 |
| Bam Adebayo | 96.3 | 94.4 | 1.9 | 15 |
| Tyler Johnson | 86.6 | 85.6 | 0.9 | 26.7 |
| Goran Dragic | 99.6 | 102.9 | -3.3 | 7.5 |
| Rodney McGruder | 98.9 | 106.8 | -7.9 | 12.5 |
| Josh Richardson | 87.9 | 99.9 | -12 | 25.2 |
| James Johnson | 84.9 | 98.2 | -13.3 | 28 |
| TOTALS | 90.1 | 77.9 | 12.2 | 20.2 |
Despite making only one basket, his leading assist ratio shows his passes, with zero turnovers by the way, directly lead to teammates putting points on the scoreboard, and unexpectedly gave him an OffRtg over a 100.
Notice also that the top three players in both NetRtg and DefRtg came off the bench to stifle the Los Angeles team when it mattered.
In the crucial fourth quarter, which saw a 3-point lead dwindle to a 1-point win, Winslow’s contributions clearly made a difference, as his +50.3 NetRtg dwafted all other Miami players.
Net Ratings 4th Quarter
| Player | OffRtg | DefRtg | NetRtg | AST Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | OffRtg | DefRtg | NetRtg | AST Ratio |
| Justise Winslow | 122.4 | 72.0 | 50.3 | 50.0 |
| Bam Adebayo | 104.5 | 92.9 | 11.6 | 29.1 |
| Rodney McGruder | 66.7 | 69.4 | -2.8 | 0.0 |
| Josh Richardson | 80.3 | 83.5 | -3.3 | 33.3 |
| Wayne Ellington | 84.0 | 91.9 | -8.0 | 0.0 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 84.0 | 96.3 | -12.4 | 0.0 |
| Tyler Johnson | 100.0 | 120.0 | -20.0 | 0.0 |
| Goran Dragic | 63.6 | 112.6 | -49.0 | 20.0 |
| James Johnson | 0.0 | 102.5 | -102.5 | 0.0 |
| TOTALS | 84.0 | 91.9 | -8.0 | 19.1 |
His Assist Ratio of 50 indicted his hand prints were all over the Heat’s flow on offense in the final stages of the game, even if he didn’t make the score himself.
Bam Adebayo was the only other Heat player with a positive NetRtg in the last 12 minutes, as the video below shows Bam’s great iso-defense and rebound set up Dragic’s winning basket, and later Justise and Bam shut down Isaiah Thomas in his last-ditch effort to become a hero.
The clip from the Lakers perspective illustrates areas where Miami needs improvement, but also how important the Heat’s defense, featuring Justise and Bam, was in snapping their 9-game road losing streak.
After the game Lakers head coach Luke Walton complimented Josh Richardson on denying an entry pass to Julius Randle from Lonzo Ball, and in general playing a tougher, more physical game than his team.
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