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After back-to-back rough outings for Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis in the Summer League to start, there is still a lot to improve on and learn, and the 20th overall pick already has goals in what he should limit. Though Jakucionis has already gotten advice from fellow Heat young star Kel'el Ware, Summer League head coach Eric Glass speaks on what the staff is telling the 19-year-old.
Through two games on Saturday and Sunday, Jakucionis has totaled seven points on making just one field goal out of 10 attempts, missing all seven of his three-point opportunities, and also has eight turnovers, five of them in the latter game. As Glass would mention, the entire team had a problem in that department, finishing with 24 turnovers, but would mention that the task will be to ‘coach up' Jakucionis as there is a “learning curve,” according to The Miami Herald.
“That’s a major emphasis for everybody,” Glass said. “We’ll continue to watch film with him and coach him up. There’s a learning curve for him and we’ll help him with that process so we can get those turnovers down.”
One area that's been a little bit of a disappointment so far has been the assist numbers, though Jakucionis has been used on and off the ball, and although he's known for his play-making and ball-handling, his role has been fluid. So far through the two contests, he has three assists total.
“We have a lot of guys that can handle,” Glass said. “We’re trying to have counters to teams’ pressure. So that’s part of our offense, where we can get other guys involved, other guys can bring the ball up the court and initiate offense to alleviate some of that pressure.”
Heat's Kasparas Jakucionis is receiving advice from Kel'el Ware
Jakucionis has no doubt expressed his excitement about improving with the Heat, so judgment should not be based on just two Summer League games. Every rookie's path in the NBA isn't as easy as the same was with Ware, who was a first-year player last season, as advised Jakucionis, reminding him that this is a time to “work on your stuff.”
“I was speaking to him yesterday, because we walked back from the game, and I was just telling him, ‘Hey, you know, it’s summer league for a reason. You work on your stuff,’” Ware said of his message to Jakucionis. “I told him if you’re going to shoot, don’t think about it. You let it go, trust yourself.”
The next time Jakucionis can get back on the floor is on Sunday in the final California Classic Summer League game against the Golden State Warriors.
