Miami Heat Dispatch: Bam Adebayo, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duncan Robinson step up in win vs Hawks
By Max Escarpio
A prime-time weekend match had the Miami Heat in the win column against the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat welcomed the Hawks in a divisional game, where Miami is 6-0 this season. Despite Jimmy Butler out of the lineup, Miami secured a 122-113 victory on Friday night.
Game ball: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
With the return of Tyler Herro, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. took a backseated ball-handling role. He struggled in the previous two games sharing the floor with Herro, but the matchup against the Hawks was different. Jaquez took over from the start of the game, being aggressive in his attack to the rim.
Jaquez ended his night with 19 points and seven rebounds. While he battled through foul trouble, Jaquez is showing he can make his presence felt with or against anybody. He’s becoming so accustomed to head coach Erik Spoelstra’s scheme, he fits with any lineup.
There’s certain aspects of the NBA game that tend to take players time to fine-tune, but Jaquez looks like a veteran. He gets to the free throw line when he wants to, he’s a master at playing through contact, and he has an extremely high IQ as a point-forward.