“Leave Softness At Home”: Jaime Jaquez Jr. On Celtics Match-up After Season Saving Heroics vs Bulls

Jaime Jaquez Jr is all about the Miami Heat culture. As the team lost Jimmy Butler to an MCL injury in their initial play-in loss, the rookie, alongside Tyler Herro, led the Heat to a playoff spot. Playing the most minutes for the team (35), he posted 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Behind 8-16 shooting, the Heat established early control of the game, never giving the Chicago Bulls a chance to sniff around their score after halftime.

The Heat (8th seed) will now face the Boston Celtics (1st seed), who have the best record in the league this season. With that, when asked about the approach and lessons by Butler, Jaime Jaquez Jr said, “You gotta bring your all. And leave that, how do I say this, leave the softness at home.”

With plenty of playoff games exchanged in the past, the Heat have struggled against the Celtics this season. They are 0-3 in the season series, which includes a 33-point blowout on January 25. However, Jaime believes that the “Miami Heat culture, that toughness,” can help the roster pose their will on the league-leading unit and set the tone early.

The Heat are projected to stay without their star player, Butler, for the coming weeks. They will now immediately pack up to face the Celtics in TD Garden tomorrow. As the Heat transitions to the playoff overnight, the 7th game of the series is slated for May 4. This gives Butler a loose timeline to spearhead his return and put on a similar show to last year.

Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s stats this season

Jaime Jaquez Jr. averaged 11.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in his rookie season. While the numbers signify otherwise, his presence in the Heat has been monumental. His physicality, coupled with consistent shooting and high IQ immediately made him a fit within Heat’s basketball culture.

Drafted outside the lottery, Jaime came to the league while idolizing Kobe Bryant in his growing years. With that, he can easily be cited as a rookie with wisdom ahead of his playing years. With his three-point efficiency needing a bit of growth (32.2%), Jaime shoots 48.9% from the field while logging in nearly 29 minutes per game.

However, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is still one of the Heat’s developing pieces and needs time to grow and become a priority scorer. One key hint of the same is his performance against top teams like Denver Nuggets (27% shot efficiency) and Boston (25%). It indicates that his grapples come majorly through the Heat’s struggles.

Regardless, Jaime has a respectable shot selection. Moreover, the 23-year-old understands the timing behind attacking a closeout and has a neat touch around the rim (58% on layups).