Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. shows Sixth Man of the Year potential

The Miami Heat are hoping Jaime Jaquez Jr. can provide a similar spark off the bench as Tyler Herro, who was named Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-22.

As he enters his sophomore season, Jaquez is ready to make a significant leap. With more clarity on whether he will come off the bench, he has the green light to lead the second unit.

Jaquez finished Tuesday’s preseason win over the San Antonio Spurs with 15 points, five assists and six rebounds on 45 percent shooting.

During his rookie season, he averaged 11.9 points, 2.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 32.2 percent from three-point range. In his first year in the league, he finished ninth in voting for Six Man of the Year along with Bojan Bogdanovic, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonathan Isaac.

The Heat’s main bench rotation consists of Alec Burks, Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love and Hayward Highsmith in three preseason games. Jaquez has plenty of shots around him to increase his assist numbers. Since there are no ball-dominant players in this lineup, Jaquez also has a good chance of increasing his scoring.

Improved defense and the Heat’s better ranking in the standings could lead to Jaquez earning the award as the league’s best reserve player. That could set it apart from other competitors.

Jaquez has two practices before getting serious on October 23rd against the Orlando Magic.

Bryan Townes contributes to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our reporting on Facebook.