Friday’s loss at Boston was the sixth in the last seven games for the Heat, but they got an encouraging performance from rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). Pressed into duty because of the team’s lengthy injured list, the 20th pick in this year’s draft got his first career start and responded with 17 points in nearly 36 minutes.
“He gives us the energy, the pace. He’s fearless in terms of his playmaking, aggressiveness, getting into the paint,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has really improved his three-point shooting. So that was definitely a bright spot. With Davion (Mitchell) being out, Kas got an opportunity and he really played well.”
Jakucionis has dealt with a bumpy start to his NBA career, caused in part by a sprained left wrist that sidelined him for part of training camp and the preseason, along with a strained right groin that forced him to miss the first seven regular season games. He has been playing mainly in the G League, where he’s averaging 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game with Sioux Falls.
“You never know when the chance is coming, when D-Mitch was out,” Jakucionis said. “I just have to be ready every time they need me, and I’m trying to stay ready every time they need me.”
There’s more on the Heat:
- Jakucionis’ potential emergence adds to an extremely crowded backcourt in Miami, Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel states in a mailbag column (subscription required). Injuries have been a factor so far, but Jakucionis could eventually be competing for playing time with Mitchell, Norman Powell, Tyler Herro and Dru Smith. Winderman notes that Pelle Larsson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are also used in guard roles, so there could be difficult decisions about playing time if everyone gets healthy.
- Spoelstra experimented with small-ball lineups earlier in the season, but injuries have forced him to rely more on the double-big combination of Bam Adebayo and second-year center Kel’el Ware, Winderman observes in a separate story. The Heat tend to use Ware in drop coverage to protect the rim, while switching on defense more often when he’s not in the game. “I mean, it keeps teams off balance,” Adebayo said. “We’ve got to look at it in a positive way. We keep teams off balance.”
- In another piece, Winderman calls for commissioner Adam Silver to make a decision on what the Heat can do with Terry Rozier‘s contract before the January 7 salary guarantee date and the February 5 trade deadline get any closer.
Ware is getting really good stats despite not playing heavy minutes. He’s a team leader in rebounds, blocks, 2-pt% and even 3-pt%.
His impact is strange. Sometimes, he’s completely useless, and sometimes, he’s an absolute game changer.
He’s an intriguing player. He can become a world beater or a complete disappointment.
Spoelstra often does what Kerr and other coaches do when they doubt the lineup – goes small. Ware is usually the one who gets benched in those situations.