With a new era of Miami Heat basketball forcefully upon us, the youth movement will likely be gaining more traction. The team has a handful of intriguing prospects currently on their roster, and there has been no better time than now amid a potential significant roster change to make a case for a rotation spot.
Believe it or not, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo shouldn’t be viewed as part of this young core. They are both entering their mid-to-later 20s now, with Herro turning 25 years old soon and Adebayo at the age of 27. Each of them have developed into All-Star caliber talents and are still working to reach their peak as they are on the cusp of their prime. Time truly flies.
Headlining the Heat’s true young pieces include the likes of development projects Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson, Keshad Johnson, Josh Christopher and Isaiah Stevens. Of course, there is also the duo of Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in that mix as well.
It has been an inconsistent 2024-25 campaign from both Jovic and Jaquez. They have seen their roles change in terms of starting, playing off the bench, or being left out of the rotation entirely throughout this season.
As each of them try to find their footing, there is one significant attribute that will affect their playing time moving forward.
In an era where 3-point shooting continues to be more crucial, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez’s floor spreading abilities will be under the microscope.
Jovic was once plugged in as the Heat’s starting power foward to begin this year, although those days have slipped by him sooner than expected. He did receive the spot start in Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz, but it is expected for coach Erik Spoelstra to be fluid with adjustments during this period without Butler to see what rotations work best. Still, Jovic has looked better in recent weeks.
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The third year forward displayed encouraging signs of progression last season, but saw a starting lineup demotion just a few weeks into this new campaign. He has started in 10 of his 24 appearances, and is posting averages of 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists on 45.2% shooting and 39.2% from 3-point range.
His early season benching came after an initial decline in outside shooting, and limitations defensively and on the glass. However, his recent uptick in shooting efficiency has awarded him with a more regular role again.
As for Jaquez, saying this has been a disappointing sophomore year for him is putting it lightly. His development has came to a crashing halt, and he has looked like a shell of himself from his incredible rookie campaign. He has seen his stats drop considerably across the board, but most notable in his own shooting efficiency.
Jaquez is averaging just 8.9 points compared to 12 points the year prior. It seemed like he was putting an emphasis on improving his outside shot over the offseason, but he has seen it get drastically worse from what was already a flaw in his game. He is down to just 26.3% from deep, and the result has seen his minutes also drop from 29 per game last year to 21 minutes now.
Jovic’s slump to start the season seems to finally have went away, and his increased usage has been noted with his ability to stretch the defense with a reliable 3-point stroke again. The same can’t be said for Jaquez, who will need to be able to provide these same capabilities if he doesn’t want to be in risk of stunting his growth and playing time.
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