No justice for patient Winslow owners, but James Johnson an intriguing pick up
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Here are the fantasy implications in the wake of news that Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow will likely miss the rest of the season:
Justise Winslow will undergo surgery tomorrow to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder & is likely out for the remainder of the season.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 5, 2017
The follow-up to Winslow's encouraging rookie campaign has been plagued by injuries -- and rocky even when he's been able to take the floor. If he is indeed shut down for the rest of the season, he's droppable in all but the deepest keeper leagues.
Most importantly, the Heat will need to fill the 35 minutes per game that Winslow had held down when healthy. That creates a great opportunity for fantasy owners to buy-in early on the player who will see the biggest increase in workload. For now, it's likely that player is James Johnson.
Johnson hasn't started a game this season but has appeared in all but four of the Heat's contests while logging 24.5 minutes per game. When Winslow missed nearly a month earlier this season, Johnson's playing time jumped to 27 MPG.
The Heat have struggled with spacing this season, a product of a constant stream of injuries to the backcourt and wing rotation and the presence of physical but ultimately rangeless center Hassan Whiteside. Johnson has hit 37.6% of his 3-point attempts to date, not exactly Kevin Durant-esque but good enough to give Whiteside some room to operate in the paint without the opponent's entire frontcourt within arms length.
Most importantly, the Johnson-Whiteside frontcourt will be the Heat's best bet on defense. Per nbawowy!, the Heat have allowed opponents to shoot 44.6% from the field overall this season, but just 41.2% when the athletic Johnson and Whiteside pairing is on the floor.
As a solid fit alongside their franchise player, Johnson should average 30 or more minutes per game for the rest of the season, allowing him an opportunity to build on his career high 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Add his defensive stats and Johnson could produce like a top-120 fantasy player for the rest of the season, warranting ownership in 10-team leagues or larger.
Of course, this operates under the assumption that the Heat are still trying to put their best product on the floor. By the look of some of their recent starting lineups, it appears that Pat Riley and Co. are coming to the realization that their best bet is to simply make it through the season without significant injuries to their long-term assets -- ensuring a high draft pick along the way.
That means that not only will James Johnson continue to get a chance to shine, but other role players like Tyler Johnson, Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson should receive a similar treatment, especially if Whiteside is shut down or Goran Dragic is eventually traded.