Jaime Jaquez Jr. is playing meaningful playoff minutes as a rookie, showing that craft has perhaps become an underrated quality in the draft, compared to more traditional traits such as wingspan, athleticism or shooting.
This year, of course, has been all about Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. These are two players that have broadened the imagination for what success as rookies in the NBA can look like, and for what basketball players in general can look like. As far as I’m concerned, they had reasonable cases as All-Stars, and you can still make that case for the All-Defensive teams.
Right now, Jaquez is starting for the Heat in the absence of Jimmy Butler, who went down with an MCL sprain in the first game of the play-in tournament. His 35 minutes in the win-or-go-home game against the Chicago Bulls were a team-high, and his 21 points crucial to winning instead of going home. Likewise, he was one of few bright spots in Miami’s Game 1 loss against the Boston Celtics. It doesn’t feel like anything new or surprising; Jaquez has been doing this all season long.
That extra time in school allowed for Jaquez to marinate and master his particular craft as a player. He’s strong as an ox, first of all, and a true technician who uses the full spectrum of fakes, pivots, turnarounds and stepthroughs to create windows of opportunity that others may force open with pure blow-by speed or the threat of a pull-up jumper.
This makes me wonder if craft has perhaps become an underrated quality in the draft, compared to more traditional traits such as wingspan, athleticism or shooting. The draft is a chaotic science and I certainly don’t regard myself as an expert, but the success of players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson – players that I didn’t really buy into at first, to be honest with you – has made me recalibrate my priors towards more subtle aspects of skill.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez lead Heat to win over Bulls in NBA play-in gameTyler Herro scored 24 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game.
Read more »
Jaime Foxx Just Relaunched His Flavored Whiskey BrandJaime Foxx has relaunched his Brown Sugar Bourbon as BSB Whiskey, a cinnamon and brown sugar flavored spirit.
Read more »
Jaime King Files Emergency Request to End Child Support PaymentsActress Jaime King has filed an emergency request to stop paying child support to her ex-husband Kyle Newman, citing her inability to afford the payments. She is also seeking to terminate their previous spousal support agreement. King provided evidence of Newman's success in various fields and referenced his recent wedding and the birth of their second child.
Read more »
The Heat are headed to Boston after ousting the Bulls 112-91 in East play-in finaleTyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game. Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami.
Read more »
NBA: Heat beat Bulls to secure the eighth seed for second straight yearTyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Read more »
Heat headed to Boston after beating Bulls 112-91 in East play-in finaleTyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game Friday night.
Read more »