The Miami Heat have had plenty of injuries in the backcourt this season. Tyler Herro missed the first month of the season while recovering from ankle surgery and was out for the last month with a rib injury before returning to the lineup this week. Also, Terry Rozier has not been a part of the rotation this season due to his arrest in Oct. after being investigated for gambling violations. With these two players being out for most of the season, there is one guard who has stepped up as of late in their absence.
Bleacher Report released an article, naming five NBA players who deserve more minutes. One player mentioned in the article is Heat rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis.
"Injuries dampened the start of Kasparas Jakucionis' rookie campaign, and while he started playing more ahead of the All-Star break, it would be a stretch to call him an entrenched member of the rotation, especially as the Miami Heat battle for playoff positioning," the article wrote. "Still, even though the stakes are high, Jakucionis' inexperience shouldn't faze head coach Erik Spoelstra. The passing simply pops — and would be more smack-you-in-the-face if Miami had him running more pick-and-rolls. Even without that crutch, the derring-do vision he displays off the dribble is a level of artful creativity the Heat haven't seen since…LeBron James(?)."
Jakucionis got off to a rocky start in the Summer League with a stretch of poor performances but quickly bounced back throughout his stint in the G-League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Now, with his expanded role in the Heat's rotation, he is making the most of it.
"Growing pains are baked into the rookie-playmaker experience," the article added. Jakucionis is shooting a ghastly sub-31 percent inside the arc, including just 42 percent at the rim. Finishing more efficiently should come with time for someone his size. In the interim, Miami can stomach the errancy when he's so far ahead of schedule from distance, having nailed over 45 percent of his threes. More than anything, the newbie adds a layer of unpredictability to a Heat offense that has long since fallen off its early peak. It's no coincidence they're generating more overall looks at the rim and from the corners with him on the court. Prioritizing his development should soar up their to-do list, not merely because of what it could mean down the line, but for what it might do right now."
It will be interesting to see how Jakucionis is used over the next month-and-a-half with Herro's return to the lineup and the team fighting for a playoff spot. If the Illinois product can keep up this strong play, he may become a guy worthy of getting north of 20 minutes a night.
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