5 Games that gave Miami Heat fans a glimpse into the future

2. Jaquez steals the show on Christmas day vs 76ers

Prior to their Christmas day showdown against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat's last appearance on Christmas came three seasons ago against the New Orleans Pelicans with no fans in attendance due to COVID. In this instance, the Miami Heat picked up a 119-113 win over the 76ers in large part due to a historic performance by Jaquez.

Not only did Jaquez score a career-high 31 points, he also recorded his first career double-double with 10 rebounds and joined an elite list of players such as Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Roberston who put up 30 points and 10 rebounds. Jaquez also made Heat history with one of his feats being the second rookie in Heat history to put up that stat line with Grant Long being the only other Heat rookie to accomplish that feat.

Jaquez showed off his full offensive arsenal and scoring in transition, isolation, and off the ball by making a few catch and shoot threes along with dunks by cutting backdoor.

Jaquez also had a Jimmy Butler-esque sequence where he finished a layup off of a Kevin Love outlet pass, something Butler has done constantly when opposing defenses don't get back in transition. Jaquez was very active defensively and forced a few turnovers with one resulting in a steal off an attempted entry pass to Tobias Harris.

Jaquez had a very strong rookie campaign and was rewarded by earning All-Rookie first team honors. With more time to learn under Butler and the best coach in the game, Erik Spoelstra, expect more of these performances from Jaquez in the near future.