Justise Winslow’s heel turn is very exciting for the Heat

Justise Winslow has flipped a switch. The often reserved and soft spoken forward has become a full out mask breaking super villain (at least in the eyes of Philly fans). His recent play is aggressive, his defense spectacular and attitude vicious. The work Justise put in over the year is paying off in front of millions.

Drafted #10 in the 2015 NBA Draft, Winslow was viewed by many as a steal. He was coming off a national championship and looked ready to be Wade’s successor to the Miami throne. For a while, that looked like the case. He had a solid rookie season, even playing well in the playoffs and expectations were high for year two. Unfortunately, Justise injured his shoulder and missed most of the season.

Somewhere along the way people started to consider him a bust, which was probably just a result of him being out of the lineup and the lack of media coverage on the 2017 all-starless Heat.

Well, that opinion is changing. Any Heat fan can tell you Justise has experienced a career renaissance in his third year with the Heat. He’s proven his versatility handling backup point guard duties, and showing a complete game with his passing and court vision. His handle has developed and he’s fearless when slashing (he’s even finishing his layups). His shot is also falling, so consistently that he’s developed into a real deep threat as made clear by his shots last night:

Justise is in the process of an evolution and becoming an NBA villain just might be part of that. This started in Game 2. Justise complete dogged Ben Simmons all game and it doesn’t take a skilled lip reader to see what he was saying on this play (hint: he called him a bitch ass).

Justise is fully engaged in this series on the offensive and defensive end. He’s doing everything he can to help the team.

Yeah the mask break was bit much, but honestly if Justise’s final form is a three point scoring, trash talking elite defender than we can’t complain. Miami’s culture has always been about being the hardest competitor on the court. Justise is doing that and it’s exciting for his future.