Even with two injuries suffered by Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat fought until the very end against the best team in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, Miami missed a few opportunities in crunch time which ultimately led to a 104-97 defeat to the Thunder Friday night at Kaseya Center.
After a sensational rookie season, Jaime Jaquez Jr. needs to step up.
With Butler leaving the game in the first quarter with an illness, Erik Spoelstra called on Jaime Jaquez Jr. to fill the void of Butler. This has been a rough season for Jaquez, and the struggles continued Friday night. Jaquez received 30 minutes of playing time, the most since Dec. 2, when Jaquez logged 36 minutes, but he could not make the most out of his opportunity.
In a scenario where Butler is sidelined for multiple games, Jaquez needs to show he can snap out of his sophomore slump and at least show flashes of last season when his play earned him First Team All-Rookie honors.
A big reason why Jaquez has struggled is due to his inability to knock down 3-pointers consistently. Out of 13 attempts, Jaquez has only made one 3-pointer, with that make coming against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 4. For December, Jaquez is shooting 1 for18 from 3-point range.
Last season, Jaquez had success catching the defense slipping and cutting to the basket for an easy 2. This season, if Jaquez does not have the ball and is on the perimeter, teams are daring Jaquez to shoot and beat them from beyond the arc. With Jaquez's inability to knock down a shot, teams will continue to play him that way until they are proven otherwise.
Spoelstra has shown to have a short leash with players not performing well, with Nikola Jovic and Terry Rozier being prime examples. With capable shooters like Pelle Larsson and Alec Burks out of the nightly rotation, I would not be shocked if Spoelstra shortens Jaquez's minutes even more if he cannot flip the script this season.
In no way am I saying Jaquez should not receive minutes again this season, but the way Spoelstra has operated this season, a few DNPs could be a wakeup call for Jaquez. Heat Nation is rooting for Jaquez to turn the season around, and hopefully, a resurgence can take place Saturday night against the Orlando Magic.