It’s only 11 NBA games into his rookie campaign, but the early returns for Jaime Jaquez Jr. have been very encouraging.
With Tyler Herro sidelined by an ankle injury, Jaquez Jr. has been able to get more minutes and showcase the NBA-ready skillset that swayed the Heat to draft him with the 18th pick.
I’m just so impressed with how active he is on defense. Many times the drive comes his side, his hands are in there, he’s getting deflections, steals, He’s been crazy good on ball, doesn’t get backed down, doesn’t get blown by.
And offensively, he really is baby Jimmy with his footwork and the way he always seems to occupy the right space at exactly the right times. Great cutter, getting better with his outside shot, getting the ball exactly to where it needs to go accurately and on time. Spo has played him the full 4th quarter 4 games in a row. Spo trusting him down the stretch is the biggest compliment of all, honestly. Definitely feels like we found something here.