One of the more exciting developments for the upcoming Miami Heat season is no doubt Jaime Jaquez Jr. and his “hunter” mentality that he looks to take from the Summer League and into his sophomore campaign. After Jaquez had a standout rookie season playing alongside stars such as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, there are aspects of his game that he wants to improve upon as he talked this week about those certain areas.
Jaquez was recognized for his efforts last season having made the All-rookie first team along with being Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month twice. However, he expressed that one aspect he wants to improve on is from the three-point line according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald where he shot 32.2 percent last season.
“My three-point shooting, that’s an area that I really wanted to improve,” Jaquez said. “I feel like I needed to improve if we wanted to, as a team, make the strides and jumps that we need to try to win a championship. And just really honing in on mechanics and getting a bunch of reps up.”
Last season, Jaquez averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field as teams were no doubt frustrated that the Heat once again hit on a player in the middle of the first round.
Other aspects Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. wants to improve on
Other aspects he wants to see improvement in is being “the best playmaker,” but also home improvement with himself like his “diet” and “sleeping patterns.”
“I think also just taking the next step of being a professional and really doing everything necessary to take care of my body when it comes to my diet, sleeping patterns and things like that,” Jaquez said.
“As well as trying to be the best playmaker I can, be a guy that always makes the right decisions and that coach can trust in those moments,” Jaquez continued.
Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. talks defensive impact without Caleb Martin
As the Heat were more on the silent side this offseason in terms of acquisitions aside from re-signing several players and a newcomer in Alec Burks, Jaquez along with other young star Nikola Jovic will be called on for more production. Especially for Jaquez and the defensive side of the ball as while the Heat retained Haywood Highsmith, Miami lost Caleb Smith to free agency who was a key part of the team being a top five unit defensively as the UCLA product even took note of that.
“Obviously with losing Caleb this year, I think there’s definitely going to be a hole to be filled when it comes to the defensive side of the ball and a guy who can really go out there and stop the other team’s best player or whoever has got it going that night,” Jaquez said via The Miami Herald. “I think my role can definitely evolve into somebody who coach just decides, ‘Hey Jaime, I want you to go guard the best player and chase him around and stop him,’ I think that’s a way that my role can evolve.”
“I think ultimately just being solid on defense, I know that at times I can get a little over aggressive and make some careless mistakes, whether it be reaching or trying to have a moment, I think an area that I can really improve on is just being very sound when it comes to my defense,” Jaquez continued. “Not doing too much, just making sure that I’m making it as tough a shot as possible or making them get rid of the ball.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the importance of health for Heat
Jaquez went through a ton in his first season like being in the playoffs and being relied on especially when the Heat were dealing with major injury issues, especially with star Jimmy Butler who the two have been compared to one another. He played 75 games which was a team-high and looks to do the same as he talks about his lifestyle outside of the court.
“The season is very long, it’s grueling,” Jaquez said. “You talk to some of the veterans about how much they take care of their body and what they eat, and I think just trying to change my diet. Doing a lot more organic foods and doing research into the things that get put into our food.
“So just trying to stay very organic, very healthy and just try to implement that as a lifestyle,” Jaquez continued. “As I’ve learned, it just makes your energy levels higher, you feel better, your brain is a lot more in tune and a lot more focused than when you’re putting bad preservative types of food in your body.”
Heat's Bam Adebayo noticing improvement from Jaime Jaquez Jr.
There is no doubt that the work Jaquez has been putting in has not been left unnoticed as throughout last season, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and several teammates praised the rookie for his level of play early on the big stage. One of those people was Miami captain Bam Adebayo who said this week to The Miami Herald that Jaquez has shown that “he belongs” with the rest of the league.
“Jaime has been showing us that he can play, that he belongs in this league,” Adebayo said. “I feel like that’s the one thing that can be a high compliment, if you look at it the right way. Somebody saying you belong in the NBA and he’s shown that, he’s continuing to show that. I still see it when I’m working out and they’re playing pick-up in our arena. He’s still showing that he belongs, he deserves his spot, he deserves to play and that’s what you like about the young fella. He’s not scared to go into any battle against anybody.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. talks Heat's motivation heading into season
At the end of the day, the Heat are looking to bounce back after a disappointing ending to last season where they lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs and finished with the eighth seed for the second straight year. Jaquez spoke about how the team has a “chip on our shoulder” which will further motivate the team in forcing people to mention their names when speaking about teams in contention.
“No matter what it is, we’re going to find a way to make us have a chip on our shoulder,” Jaquez said. “I think even going in, I think it’s seven national TV games for the Miami Heat, that’s what the NBA thinks of us and that’s OK because I guarantee you that they’re going to still be talking about us when the season goes on and we play our season. I think the media is still going to find a way to talk about us and what we’re doing and we’re going to definitely make some noise. They’re going to have no choice but to mention our names.”
Before the Heat can prove the doubters wrong with their schedule, media day is on Sept. 30 in the lead up to the start of training camp in the Bahamas on Oct. 1.
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