Miami Heat: 1 trait every young player must improve upon

It was a long season for the Miami Heat, but there were noticeable glimpses of good from their young core in 2024-25. That said, what should each of the Heat’s young players continue to improve heading into the 2025-26 season?

(Editor’s Note: Every player with four or more years of experience after 2024-25 is excluded from this list, as are two-ways.)

Jaime Jaquez Jr.:

3-point shooting Consistency

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had a splendid rookie season in 2023-24, making first-team All-Rookie while finishing just outside the top-3 in Rookie of the Year voting. However, there was one element of his game that needed fine-tuning: 3-point shooting.

Jaquez spoke about wanting to improve his long-range consistency last September, but the results over his sophomore season did not follow. After shooting 32.2 percent from deep as rookie, he shot 31.1 percent from distance this season on similar volume. He did a poor job at developing counters when driving to the rim and didn’t have any explosiveness amid multiple injuries, but I think his 3-point shooting needs the most work since that’s still a big question mark heading into his third season.

Others: Counters when slashing, one-on-one defense, finishing

Keshad Johnson:

Ballhandling:

You could honestly say that Johnson needs to improve his 3-point shooting as well; he was a capable shooter over his final season at Arizona (albeit on low volume), but Johnson shot just 30.7 percent from deep (3.6 3PA) in 32 regular season after knocking down 39.6 percent of his long-range attempts in 13 showcase cup contests.

Johnson is one of the best athletes in the Heat organization. He’s a monster in the open floor. However, his creation upside is significantly limited because he lacks a tight handle. Johnson is incredibly difficult to stop around the rim … when he’s able to get there. Of course, he’s not going to be asked to create much in the halfcourt; one could assume he’d be a corner spacer or a hub at the dunker spot/short corner. But being able to navigate tight spaces is important when it comes to punishing defenses, even if he only takes 1-2 dribbles per possession.

Others: 3-point shooting, passing, etc.

Nikola Jovic:

A consistent in-between game (against mismatches):

The next step in Jovic’s offensive game is developing a consistent in-between game. He’s shot 38.3 percent from 3-point range over the last two seasons. But teams would oftentimes stick or switch smaller defenders onto Jovic and were getting away with it. I’m not saying he needs to consistently shoot mid-range shots, but there’s no issue with developing an in-between game (runners/floaters, turnaround jumpers, baby hooks with both hands), especially with his back to the basket against mismatches if he’s not attacking off closeouts–where he’s lethal.

Others: Ballhandling, defense in space, shooting mechanics

Pelle Larsson:

Ballhandling:

Larsson didn’t shoot the ball particularly well as a rookie, but he has a strong shooting track record dating back to his freshman season at Utah. While that may be a sticking point, I’m not worried about that long-term. Not that I am super concerned about his ballhandling either, but it must improve considering how frequently he tried to create getting downhill. Larsson was an adept decision-maker and has always showcased a very physical play style, but his ballhandling was oftentimes shaky in traffic. I foresee his role expanding in his second year (depending on how the rest of the roster is shaped), so I think improving his handle needs to be a priority.

Others: Shooting consistency, fouls (he had a rookie whistle), passing accuracy

Kel’el Ware:

Strength:

Ware knows he has to get stronger–not just in the upper body or core, but everywhere–to survive as an NBA big man. Here was his response during his end-of-season press conference:

“(My goal) it was getting stronger before the season. Still getting stronger. Until I get to that point, then it’s gonna continue to be getting stronger,” he said.

It’s not going to come overnight. But he will need to do a better job at not only absorbing contact, but playing through it. Ware was a poor 3-point shooter outside of a two-week stretch in January and wasn’t always sharp with his awareness or positioning defensively. But getting stronger is and should be the focal point for the Heat’s lanky big. He’s got all of the tools, but the NBA is a different beast as a big.