Subscribe
Follow Us
As the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night, one player that stood out was Jaime Jaquez Jr. who is entering his second year in the NBA. With the Heat looking to make some noise in a tough Eastern Conference, Jaquez will be a vital piece for Miami as head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about his impact after the victory to the media.
There is no doubt Jaquez was impressive in his first season in the league for the Heat as he was drafted in the middle of the first round coming out of UCLA.
Heat's Erik Spoelstra on Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s role with the bench
Now heading into his sophomore campaign, he is expected to be a crucial component in the Heat's second unit as Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that he is a creative force on offense.
“There's a lot of skill and shooting, you know, with that unit and Dru [Smith] can get the group organized, Duncan [Robinson] obviously creates a lot of different havoc on his own just by running around, K-Love [Kevin Love] gives you great spacing and savviness, you know, how to manipulate the defense. But ultimately, also, and AB [Alec Burks] was really good, you know, he's just a really high IQ Player. I knew he was a bucket getter, but he's a smart, intelligent player, he knows how to fit in and let a unit work. But you also need the ball to have a place to go to when you get stuck.”
“And that's what happened, you know, few times tonight, and that's part of Jaime's talent is he can create something out of nothing, and everybody can run around and do what we need them to do, and then all of a sudden you need the ball to go somewhere. You feel that he can create something aggressive going into the paint and he's been intentional and diligent about working on making plays as well, because teams are scheming him a little bit more if he catches it in that mid post.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about the second unit and how Jaime Jaquez Jr. impacts the group.
“There’s a lot of skill and shooting with that unit…but you need the ball to have a place to go to…that’s part of Jaime’s talent is he creates something out of nothing…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/c7RgjmG7De
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 16, 2024
This was shown clearly in Tuesday's game as he scored 15 points which led the bench and was second overall behind Bam Adebayo's 20. He also had six rebounds and five assists and had the most free throw attempts as when the play was looking awry, he found his spots and “made something out of nothing” as Spoelstra mentioned.
Erik Spoelstra on what a possible jump Jaime Jaquez Jr. makes for Heat
Jaquez was relied upon a ton for a rookie as when Jimmy Butler missed games, the UCLA product would be his de facto replacement as they both play bully ball in the paint and can improvise on offense. It would lead to the up and coming star having back to back Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors and a spot on the NBA All-Rookie first team as Spoelstra spoke before about what a possible jump looks like for Jaquez.
“Probably all the external expectations on what a jump may be,” Spoelstra said on Jaquez. “It's all about impacting winning and finding different ways to do that more effectively. You know, I think for everybody else, it's just about does the scoring average go up? That's really like what probably a lot of people look at, but his impact defensively, I think will improve, feeling more comfortable in our defensive system, being able to take the challenge and do more things on that side of the floor.”
“And then offensively,” Spoelstra continued. “I think just naturally getting a better idea of how he was defended the second half of the year, how team started to scheme for him and show a little bit more attention to his touches, and particularly in the post. I think he'll make improvements in that area as well.”
Erik Spoelstra on what he expects to see from Jaime Jaquez Jr. going into his second season. #HeatCulture
“Probably all the external expectations on what a jump may be…” pic.twitter.com/1kmOsxXGoa
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 13, 2024
What Jaime Jaquez Jr. wants to improve on the Heat
Last season, he averaged 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from three-point range. Jaquez spoke about the possible improvements he wants to make which lies on the very last point on shooting from deep and being a capable decision-maker according to The Miami Herald
“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.”
“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.
Looking back at the projected second unit for this upcoming season, Jaquez should get even more opportunity this season to display any improvements.
The importance of defense for Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr.
When talking about the comparison with Butler, he's known as a bonafide two-way player which Jaquez wants to be better on the defensive end of the floor, especially with the Heat losing Caleb Martin to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“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.”
