Miami Heat: Did Derrick Jones Jr earn a larger role versus Pacers?

The Miami Heat haven’t utilized Derrick Jones Jr much inside the bubble but his play against the Indiana Pacers may change that going forward.

The Miami Heat’s matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Monday was anything but eventful. But that made for a welcome run of the mill performance for a number of their role players. Derrick Jones Jr in particular had a strong showing against the Pacers in the Miami win.

Prior to Monday’s game, Jones had been seeing inconsistent minutes in the Heat rotation. But it wasn’t until their game against the Pacers that he made the most of those minutes.

The 23-year old forward finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and a steal and block apiece in 21 minutes on the floor. Oh, and lots and lots of lobs courtesy of Goran Dragic:

It’s only Jones’ fourth game with 18+ or more points this season, which should no doubt push him to the front of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s mind when it comes to their next game. Could he see a larger role as the Heat play out their last two remaining regular-season games?

As far as this season goes, Miami is 12-8 when Jones scores 10+ or more points.

There’s little question as to the importance of the Heat’s remaining matchups: the Oklahoma City Thunder, and likely first-round playoff opponent, the Indiana Pacers. Coach Spoelstra will want to get an idea of what his playoff rotation is going to look like, as well as who (or who not) to include.

Depending on their matchups in the postseason, it could honestly go either way. Part of what made Jones so successful on Monday night was both Dragic’s vision and ability to complete those passes, but also the forward’s size against a smaller Pacers lineup.

If Miami and Indiana end up facing each other in the first round, as is expected, Jones could play a huge role for the Heat in their first of what is hopefully a number of playoff series. He’s now averaging 8.6 points, four rebounds, and one steal per game in 57 games this year.

Derrick Jones Jr will look to continue trending upward in the Miami Heat rotation as they close out the regular season. Next, Miami will be taking on Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night, with tip-off at 8:00 pm est.