When it comes to finding and developing talent, the Miami Heat are the epitome of the art in the world of sports. Beyond just the realm of NBA basketball, when it comes to finding unheralded players and proceeding to get the absolute most out of them, few in any sport do it at as a consistently high level as the Heat do.
The next guy that seems to be in that long line of success stories is Jamal Cain. Sticking with the Heat after a training camp deal, he would secure the two-way spot once reserved for Darius Days.
Cain is a gangly forward with a few ball skills and a very high motor. His motor shows up on both sides of the floor as he knows how to make an impact with his movement, get into the passing lanes, and give the team whatever is that they may need at any exact moment.
In fact, that sounds no different than a lot of Miami Heat guys of the past. And when it comes to Cain, the similarity in his overall prowess and approach isn’t by coincidence.
He actually shares specific characteristics of former Miami Heat players that came up in the organization in similar roles or fashions before him.
Miami Heat: Jamal Cain Shares Characteristics With These Past Players
Let’s look at just a few of them here.
Josh Richardson’s Build and Versatility
When you look at Cain’s body and frame, at 6’7″ and nearly 200 pounds, it is very gangly and wiry strong, as they say. Though he isn’t as big, Josh Richardson is also of that same gangly and wiry strong build.
Cain can attack the basket off the dribble, as a slasher, a rebounder, a roller, and is an improving jump shooter. He isn’t a guard but isn’t a lumbering four either, more of a wing that can play the four in today’s NBA.
Josh Richardson isn’t a forward, but more of a big guard capable of playing the forward when needed. Their body types and versatility as players are something that Cain and Richardson share.
Derrick Jones Jr.’s Athleticism And Penchant To Get In Passing Lanes
When you look at Cain play the game, one of the things that should immediately stick out to you is his athleticism. He can really elevate.
Though few can float up there and seemingly, levitate, as Airplane Mode can at times, Cain is an elite athlete in his own right. Derrick Jones Jr. also developed into a player that could take advantage of sloppy or untimely passes from the opposition as well.
Becoming a guy that could make things happen in the passing lanes, you see some of that in Cain. That’s how Airplane Mode made a lot of highlights happen and you should look for Cain to do the same.
Miami Heat: Jamal Cain’s Combined Traits Is How He Got To South Florida
The next guy that shares traits with Cain is his current teammate. This is a guy who he can really study, mirror, and hope to emulate.
Caleb Martin’s All-Aroundness
Caleb Martin is a steadily improving player that will hold down a lot of the four minutes this year for the Miami Heat. However, the way he got here was by being able to slot in anywhere up and down the lineup from 2-4 and do a ton of everything.
Whether that be any defensive assignment, along the perimeter or trying to bang inside, crashing the boards, diving on the floor, nailing open shots, finishing tough slashes, drives, or whatever the Heat needed from him in that exact moment, that’s how Caleb Martin stuck with the Heat last year, secured his new deal, and likely, the starting four spot.
Cain has a lot of that same thing about him it appears.
Rodney McGruder’s Knack To Find Open Space Or Be In The Right Spot
Nicknamed The Scavenger, it perfectly describes Rodney McGruder. Though he’ll never be confused with a star, he makes winning plays.
And one way that he does that is with his knack for just being in the right spot or finding a way to be in the right place at the right time. He, simply, knows how to find the open or right space to be in.
Cain has shown to be able to do a lot of that. Whether it’s making a key defensive play, with a cut, or a rebound, Cain has shown a similar ability to just be in the right place at the right time.
And until this day, Rodney McGruder continues to make a career out of just that. Cain will be a good role player for these Miami Heat, just as the guys named here have been before him.
And based on the shared characteristics noted above, it’s not a chance occurrence he’s in Miami and his tools should be of extreme use as the season progresses.