Miami Heat first-round pick taking full advantage of Jimmy Butler's suspension

After getting the doors blown off last Saturday at home against the Utah Jazz, the Miami Heat got their revenge against Utah as they stormed into Salt Lake City Thursday night and picked up a 97-92 victory at Delta Center.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. is taking full advantage of an expanded role

When Jimmy Butler's suspension was announced, a majority of the fanbase was trying to figure out where he might get traded. But the flip side of the coin was seeing who on the Heat would step up to fill Butler's void. So far, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is making the most of the opportunity and is providing Heat Nation with a ray of light in midst of the dark cloud that Butler's trade request put over the organization.

Since being inserted into the starting lineup, Jaquez is averaging 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting a very efficient 54.5% from the floor. This is very encouraging for Jaquez, who prior to Butler's suspension was dealing with a very hard sophomore slump.

What I loved in this game that went beyond the impressive stat line was how Jaquez closed out the game for the Heat and helped avoid losing to a team that only had two wins at home. The first play was set up after the Jazz won a challenge that would have put Jaquez at the line for two free throws.

The outcome ended up being even better for the Heat, as after the jump ball was secured, Jaquez used a Bam Adebayo screen to free himself up for a top of the key 3-pointer that ended up going in and increasing the Heat lead to five.

And a few possessions later, Jaquez was fouled with the Heat up three and stepped up to the line with the opportunity to ice the game. The last time Jaquez had the opportunity to increase at the line late in the game was Monday night at Sacramento where he missed both to keep the Kings alive. In this instance, Jaquez easily made both free throws and shut the door on Utah's comeback attempt.

I would love to see Jaquez continue to carry this momentum into the next three games and close out the road trip strong. But it will be really interesting given that once the trip ends, Butler is set to rejoin the team given the Heat cannot find a trade. In a scenario where that happens, the last thing I want to see is another step back from the young players that are thriving such as Jaquez and also Nikola Jovic.

Hopefully, the great play can continue with plenty of opportunity to grow as there is still a long season ahead of us.