By Ira Winderman/Sun Sentinel

The first taste was also a truer taste of what will follow. Until Sunday’s preseason opener, Justise Winslow’s NBA experience had been of leading man, starter, playmaker.
Then came the 90-77 exhibition loss to the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena, when Winslow played off the bench, played mostly without the ball in his hands. This certainly wasn’t Duke anymore. It wasn’t even summer league in that Heat practice jersey in July.
That had Winslow offering perspective about where he stands at this next level, and how he hopes to progress.
“For the most part, [Sunday] was just about getting adjusted to the game,” he said outside the Heat locker room. “We’ve been scrimmaging and practicing, but there’s nothing like a real, actual game. So just getting use to the pace, everything, trying to get to the right spots defensively. And for the most part -- I got beat on a couple of plays on a back door — for me it was just trying to get on the right spots offensively and defensively.”
The last time Winslow received minutes for the Heat it was as the featured attraction in summer league. This time it was with the second unit and often came with forward Josh McRoberts as the facilitator.
“You want to make plays on the court, whether it’s 10 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes,” said Winslow, who played 28, most among the reserves in the first of the Heat’s eight exhibitions, as preseason schedule that continues with a Wednesday game against the Orlando Magic in Louisville.
“You want to be efficient while you’re on the court. To me it doesn’t matter coming off the bench or starting.
“You want to make plays while you’re out there. So you got to make the most of each opportunity and stay ready. That’s probably going to be the biggest thing of the whole season, is staying ready, staying ready, and once my name is called, producing.”
Most of the initial productivity came on the defensive end, which earned praise from coach Erik Spoelstra.
“I was encouraged defensively,” Spoelstra said. “He’ll have to spend more time learning NBA situations and getting better and more used to our system.”
Winslow closed 2 of 9 from the field, but also had three assists and two steals.
“Obviously, you can see when he gets in the open court he can do some things,” Spoelstra said.
The first impression also was encouraging in the locker room.
“He belongs,” guard Dwyane Wade said. “He will just continue to get comfortable with what his role is going to be. He can play in this league. He has the body for it. He has the talent and he has a team around him to where he doesn’t have to do too much.”
From the moment he was drafted at No. 10, Winslow has exuded the same confidence he did in helping lead Duke to last season’s national championship.
That was the case Monday, as well, as he reviewed Sunday’s debut.
“For me, it’s trying to be the best player I can be on both ends of the floor,” he said. “On both ends of the floor I felt comfortable [Sunday] night. Defensively, like I said, just trying to get in the right spots and make plays and be an athlete. And on the offensive end just getting used to playing with my teammates, getting used to playing with D-Wade or playing with Josh, guys that can really make plays, playing off the ball a little bit more.”
Already he feels up to speed being up to the speed of the NBA game.
“I think practice did a good job,” he said. “The biggest thing was trying to get in the right spots. The speed didn’t really bother me at all. I had one layup I should have made on the break. I slowed down, but other than that, the speed and everything was fine.”
As for Wade comparing him to the former Ron Artest and current Metta World Peace, Winslow smiled and said, “I don’t really care. My name is Justise Winslow. He can compare me. Coach can compare me. But at the end of the day, I’m Justise Winslow.”