Kasparas Jakucionis is carving out a valuable role with the Miami Heat during his rookie season. Following a ball-dominant freshman season at Illinois, the No. 20 pick's dramatic shooting improvement has allowed him to thrive alongside Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and others.
After shooting 31.8 percent from three with Illinois, Jakucionis has shot 44.0 percent from three on 7.5 attempts per 100 possessions this season. The 19-year-old leads all rookies in three-point percentage (minimum 30 attempts).
“Kas has really been working at it, and he's clearly one of our better three-point shooters,” Erik Spoelstra said after Thursday's win over the Brooklyn Nets. “I don't know if you could make that case in July. He was a good three-point shooter, but he's really refined it. His release is quicker. His reps are always at the top of our roster in the gym. And he's also now able to do a little bit more on the move, and that really helps us. We need that spacing, we need his creativity, we need the things he can do off the dribble, but we're finding the benefits of his shooting, playing off of others. And that'll just continue to get better.”
“It's hard to find players that can do both. They can play off the ball and move and get into open spaces. He's also a very good, clever catch-and-go guy. But his one year at Illinois, he was ball-dominant, so he also is one of those guys as well. It won't be as much with us right now, but you can see where that will also be a skill set that he can lean into.”
Jakucionis' floor spacing has allowed him to make an immediate impact.
Kasparas Jakucionis turning heads amid shooting improvement with Heat
The Heat score 3.7 more points per 100 possessions with the rookie on the court vs. off, per CleaningTheGlass. That's the NBA's fifth-best mark among all players younger than 22 years old.
“He's not hesitating. He's not really thinking about it. He's just catching and just shooting it,” Bam Adebayo said. “When you're in a rhythm like that, we want you to just catch and shoot. Don't overthink it. Because a lot of times that's going to be the best shot you're going to get. So for Kas, it's keeping it simple for him.”
Jakucionis will play a significant role in the Heat's playoff push over the final 19 games of the regular season. The Lithuanian guard has played 19.8 minutes per game over the last five weeks, the eighth-most on the team.
The Heat are fighting to avoid falling into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament for the fourth straight season. Miami, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic are separated by a half game for the East's sixth through eighth seeds.
