MIAMI – As the Miami Heat obtained a huge win over the New York Knicks on Sunday night, 115-107, it was another impressive outing from the team to start the season, filled with standout performances. With the Heat running its new fast offense, one player who has benefited from it is Jaime Jaquez Jr., coming out of a sophomore slump.

After a successful rookie season, Jaquez regressed in his second year, shifting focus back to his strengths in being a downhill playmaker rather than a knockdown three-point shooter. With Miami running at a fast pace, it's given Jaquez a crucial role in the offense off the bench, and it has worked dividends, scoring 17 points in back-to-back games with head coach Erik Spoelstra giving the star his flowers.

“I think anything that gets him downhill and gets him aggressive fits him. We just had to really clean up our spacing and the decision-making to simplify things for him. And now just let him loose. He's playing great basketball right now, playing super confident. I want him just to enjoy this right now, he's making the right plays, and he's keeping it pretty simple,” Spoelstra said.

“You know, even if he's downhill, he's keeping it simple,” Spoelstra continued. “They don't cut him off on one or two spins. He's scoring; if not, he's making the appropriate play at the kick out. And that's a credit to him. With a lot of work on that that the play making and the film study, and he's been a tremendous boost for that second unit.”

Jaquez spoke before about the use of a mental coach in the offseason, giving him a clear mind, as Bam Adebayo pointed out after the game.

Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. on potential Sixth Man of the Year consideration

Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) drives to the basket against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Kaseya Center.
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While others are thriving with the up-tempo offense, like Heat newcomer Norman Powell transitioning seamlessly into the system, Jaquez has arguably been the greatest benefactor. He's back to playing to his strengths in getting downhill and having the choice of using his physicality to get an advantage at the basket, or passing out for a potential open shot.

Jaquez has even been seen taking the ball up the court, with Spoelstra using him in a myriad of roles as the 24-year-old said to ClutchPoints after Miami's win that the new offense is creating a lot of space for him to make a play.

Besides the point totals, he's also racked up 15 rebounds and 11 assists in the past two games, having a wide impact. As the first person off the bench so far this season, Jaquez would even be asked about the potential of being the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, but he believes it's “too early” for that talk.

“That was quick,” Jaquez said. “That’s something I haven’t even thought about. We're too early in the season for all that. We're just here having fun as a team. In the second unit, I just try to be that guy, be that leader. I've been here for my third year. So just trying to lead these guys in the second unit and bring it every time. I always tell them, we're either going to be the spark or we're going to be the gas on the fire of the team. So we got to get it sparked up.”

Subsequently, Jaquez's role has been deemed as “super important,” as Powell expressed, with the forward looking to continue it into Tuesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets.