Down Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jovic on Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis was called upon to provide a spark against the Brooklyn Nets for his first real NBA action.
It wasn’t his first career game. But it was his first opportunity playing “real” minutes after just 54 seconds of action before then.
After the Heat’s 106-95 win — snapping a five-game losing streak — head coach Erik Spoelstra appeared encouraged by the boost that the Heat’s first-round rookie gave them in a limited sample.
“I thought [Kasparas Jakucionis] gave us a good boost,” Spoelstra said. “We’re down guys right now. Kas gives us the energy, the competitiveness. He makes things happen. He’s gotten a lot better, a lot more comfortable in what we want to do. I thought those minutes were good.”
Jakucionis made his only shot attempt — a corner 3-pointer off a kick-out from Simone Fontecchio — in eight minutes of action. Jakucionis played within the flow of the offense with many on-ball reps, recording one assist.
“I feel good,” Jakucionis said. “The most important (thing) is that we won after (the) losing streak of quite a lot of games. That was the most important for today, we all focused for the win tonight.
“I’m trying to be ready always, do what I can do and control what I can control.”
Jakucionis’ lone blemish was gambling for a steal beyond halfcourt, leading to the Nets playing a 5-on-4 that led to a wing triple from Jalen Wilson. Outside of that, Jakucionis did a good job at the point-of-attack defensively.
It remains to be seen whether or not the 19-year-old will have more responsibility as time moves on. He’s done well in the G-League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he’s shown improvement as a ballhandler, 3-point shooter, decision-maker and defender.
But the Heat’s backcourt rotation –spearheaded by Herro, Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell — is logjammed.
Are you hoping he garners more of a role?! Let us know in the comments!
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