Eleven games into the NBA season, and the vibes are high for the Miami Heat. They are coming off a game of the year candidate on Monday, and it is clear that Erik Spoelstra is getting the most he can out of a roster that many experts didn't expect much from.
And no one player has symbolized the turnaround more than Jaime Jaquez Jr., who finds himself in the running for an award no one would have expected when the season began.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is in the running for 6th Man of the Year
As it stands right now, JJJ is the betting favorite to win 6th Man of the Year in the NBA, with Ajay Mitchell and Quentin Grimes trailing behind.
The turnaround for Jaquez Jr. has been remarkable, and Monday night's game against Cleveland might have best symbolized how far he has come since last year. Back in April, when Miami got swept by Cleveland, Jaquez Jr. played a total of 19 minutes in the series. On Monday, he played 33 minutes and had 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, one steal, and a partiage in a pear tree.
So maybe not that last one, but what has been fascinating to watch is his metamorphosis into an all-around player that has Heat fans going, "This is Jaquez Jr. we are talking about, right?"
But what has bolstered Jaquez Jr. the most is that he seems like the perfect fit for Erik Spoelstra's space and pace offense that has been rolled out this season.
Three-point shooting is still an issue for JJJ (he has the 11th-worst percentage in the NBA among players with at least 15 total attempts), but he has thrived in being able to attack the rim. His free-throw attempts per game have nearly doubled, and his overall field goal percentage is up 11 points from last year.
Combined with having one of the best plus/minus ratios in the league, Miami is winning as much as anything because of Jaquez Jr.
There are some mix-and-match ideas that could get JJJ into the starting lineup, and Spoelstra did try some of those during the preseason, but he seems to have found his home as a perfect rotational guy coming off the bench.
And until Spoelstra has cause to make a change, the Heat are in good shape with the role carved out for Jaquez Jr.