Sunday afternoon’s season finale for the Miami Heat ended in classic fashion. After several late-game blunders, they lost at the hands of the Washington Wizards off an unlucky game-winning bucket by Bub Carrington. But there was still an intriguing silver lining for Miami, despite the loss.
The dissapointing ending had the Heat finish with a 37-45 record overall, good for their worst since since 2015. Today's loss was their league-leading 17th game this season losing by five or fewer points. Additionally, they led the league in most blown fourth-quarter leads (20) and double-digit leads (22).
Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. spent most of this campaign in and out of coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation. A step back offensively and disappointing progress in his 3-point shot has all led to losing minutes.
But Jaquez went out with a bang, potentially forcing Spoelstra to evaluate his bench rotation as Miami heads into the Eastern Conference 9-10 play-in game later this week.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. submitted a career-high 41 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists on 17 of 25 shooting overall.
For those that remember, he also ended the season strong last year, providing a spark during the play-in tournament before getting a chance to start in the first round due to Jimmy Butler’s injury.
The sophomore slump didn’t treat Jaquez well this season. Still, the overall talent and potential is still there as a young 24 year old. Not all growth in the NBA is linear, and perhaps it could come at a gradual but slower pace for a player like him.
Youngest Miami Heat players to score 40 points or more in a game:
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) April 13, 2025
• Tyler Herro
• Dwyane Wade
• Bam Adebayo
• Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Tons of talent on that list. pic.twitter.com/7lAdP1CGI2
It is still unclear who will crack that initial rotation and how many players Spoelstra will trust in this win-or-go-home play-in game.
Davion Mitchell, Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson have been staples of Spoelstra's bench. Kyle Anderson has also earned more minutes as a third big. Jaquez could crack that group if Spoelstra feels that the lineup is in need of scoring.
Although it’s unknown just how significant the meaning was, Jaquez’s offensive explosion brings enticing possibilities. If he could add scoring production like that on a consistent basis, it would be a welcome addition to the Heat’s depth.
Whether it was too late for Jaquez to make a case for himself remains to be seen.