The Miami Heat added another integral piece to their roster in rookie Precious Achiuwa by selecting him with the 20th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. However, he has yet to see significant action on the floor together with big man Bam Adebayo.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently raved about their promising potential of playing together, but he also bared his rationale behind the decision:
“Defensively, they would wreak a lot of havoc just with their size and quickness and physicality,” Spoelstra said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “But we’re trying to simplify as much as we can for Precious. So early on, I don’t anticipate you’ll see much of [Adebayo and Achiuwa playing together]. You’ll see it maybe at times and that’s not a criticism or an indictment at all. This is about trying to fast track success as quickly as possible without your normal ramp-up. That’s pretty much the deal right now.”
The Heat only had a limited time to prepare for the 2020-2021 season after their run to the 2020 NBA Finals. Achiuwa and the other members of this draft class were immediately thrown to the wolves and had little time to adjust as the league eventually started the regular season in late December, just a month after the November draft.
The 21-year-old is currently tallying norms of 8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists through 17.3 minutes per game. He is primarily coming off the bench and has only started two of 12 games played this season.
The Heat have struggled to start this season at 5-7, thanks in large part to Jimmy Butler's extended absence and other COVID-19 issues on the roster. Hopefully, both Achiuwa and Adebayo will get to see the floor together more often in order to help Miami win more games.
The Heat will hope to snag their second consecutive victory as they visit the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 20.
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