Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis bounces back, ‘looked more himself’ in Las Vegas opener
It should have been a feel-good day for Miami Heat rookie Kasparas Jakucionis. After all, he had just turned in one of the highest-scoring performances during the first few days of this year’s Las Vegas Summer League after making just one field goal in his first three summer league games at the California Classic.
But instead, Jakucionis was left lamenting what he didn’t do in the Heat’s 105-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday to begin Las Vegas Summer League instead of celebrating his breakout 24-point performance.
“I mean, basketball is a lot more than just shooting,” Jakucionis said after Friday’s summer league defeat. “It felt good, yeah. But eventually we still lost. I didn’t do a great job on the other side like rebounding, getting out on transition defense. So yeah, but I definitely felt better with the shot.”
Jakucionis certainly wasn’t perfect to begin Las Vega Summer League and he’s not expected to be perfect after just recently turning 19 years old on May 29.
But Jakucionis definitely showed some signs of growth on Friday after totaling just 12 points on 1-of-15 from the field, 0-of-11 shooting from three-point range and 10-of-12 shooting from the foul line in his first three summer league games at the California Classic, and that’s what matters most to the Heat.
Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th pick in the first round of last month’s draft, closed the Heat’s Las Vegas opener with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, 5-of-9 shooting on threes and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and two turnovers in 28 minutes.
“It was good to see him get his feet underneath him,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass said when asked about Jakucionis. “He looked more himself. Hopefully we can continue to grow with that.”
Most of Jakucionis’ production came in the first half, catching fire early to record 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 shooting on threes and 3-of-3 shooting from the foul line, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in the opening period.
Jakucionis went on to finish the first half with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting on threes, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one turnover. He totaled five points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field in the second half.
“I think I was a little bit more aggressive on the offensive end,” Jakucionis said when asked what he felt that he did better on Friday.
That uptick in aggressiveness came after a lot of film study in the wake of his three-game struggle at the California Classic.
“I’m watching a lot of film,” Jakucionis said, with the Heat set to play its second of at least five Las Vegas Summer League games on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers (7:30 p.m., NBA TV). “That’s what I like to do. Just moving forward, I will watch more and more film. We will have more and more games to watch and try to get the little details that matter and try to improve my game.”
Jakucionis’ standout summer league day also came after longtime Heat captain and current Heat executive Udonis Haslem pulled him aside and spoke to him on the team’s bench just minutes prior to tipoff Friday in Las Vegas.
“A lot of advice,” Jakucionis said when asked what Haslem’s message was to him. “I won’t share them all. I’ll keep it a secret. But he’s helping me a lot. Everybody on the staff and all the players are helping me a lot. I’m just trying to listen, trying to learn as much as I can.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went as far as to say that Jakucionis’ struggles to begin summer league could end up being a positive.
“That was a good teaching point for him and we were all encouraged by the mental makeup he had,” Spoelstra said while appearing on the ESPN broadcast of Friday’s summer league game. “Look, it was uneven offensively — there’s no doubt about it. He had a lot of turnovers, some mistakes. All the intangibles — the defense, the hustle plays, the passing, all of that he was able to do while having some uneven offensive play.
“Sometimes that can take a spirit or confidence away from a player, but he found a way to impact the game, impact winning. That’s what our scouts really liked about him as a young player. They watched him a whole lot more than we did at Illinois. All those intangibles. today, he’s kind of putting it all together, which is fun to see.”
Friday’s breakout outing was just one game, just like Jakucionis’ rough California Classic was only three games. Those are just reference points in the early days of his development with the Heat.
The Heat is taking the long view with Jakucionis, but Friday’s display was a step in the right direction.
“It’s a process,” Jakucionis emphasized. “It’s usually a long process and it takes some time to just get to know everybody, get to know yourself during these games. I’m just trying to learn and do the best I can.”
