Healthy Heat has meant something different for Jaquez. Also, Powell available despite groin issue
Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. is still among the Miami Heat’s top reserves, but his role has changed a bit in recent days.
With the Heat close to full health for essentially the first time this season, Jaquez’s production and minutes are down since the NBA All-Star break.
After averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 12.2 field-goal attempts in 28.9 minutes per game while shooting 50.5% from the field in 51 appearances for the Heat before the break to earn some NBA Sixth Man of the Year buzz, Jaquez entered Thursday night’s matchup against the 76ers in Philadelphia averaging 10.3 points, four rebounds, three assists and 10 field-goal attempts in 23.7 minutes per game while shooting 46.7% from the field in the Heat’s first three games following the break.
“Yeah, he’s not getting quite the touches and the rhythm that he was getting six weeks ago,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said this week of Jaquez. “But that’s part of a little bit of the sacrifice of everybody. We want to have more talent. That’s the reality. You’ve got to have all your guns out there. And then there’s a little bit of an adjustment period.
“He’ll figure it out. He’s a guy that wants to make it work. He’s still arguably our most important downhill guy. He’ll get that rhythm.”
But it’s not just fewer minutes and diminished production for Jaquez since the break, it’s also a slightly different role.
With guard Tyler Herro playing in the Heat’s first three games after the break as a reserve after playing in just 11 of the team’s first 56 games this season due to various injuries, Jaquez doesn’t have the ball in his hands as much as part of the team’s bench lineups.
Jaquez, 25, posted a usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) of 21.6% prior to the break, but has a usage rate of 19.6% in the Heat’s first three games after the break.
In fact, Jaquez has played just 17 fourth-quarter minutes (5.7 minutes per fourth quarter) in the Heat’s first three games since All-Star Weekend. Before the break, Jaquez totaled a team-high 413 fourth-quarter minutes (8.4 minutes per fourth quarter).
Jaquez, who entered Thursday with the 17th-most total paint points in the NBA this season (550 paint points), averaged a team-high 14.3 drives to the basket per game before the break, according to NBA tracking data. Since the break, Jaquez’s drives are down to 11.7 per game.
“You just got to continue to stay ready,” said Jaquez, who was among the favorites for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award earlier this season. “Obviously, a huge offensive impact with Tyler coming back. It’s great to have him. But as far as me, I don’t want to say taking a step back, but you kind of just allow others to get more involved, I think, is probably the way to go about it. Just finding ways to still impact the game as best I can, both offensively and defensively. Just continue to play the game the right way.”
But overall, Jaquez is still in the middle of his best NBA season. He entered Thursday averaging career highs in points per game (15), rebounds per game (5.4) and assists per game (4.6) while shooting a career-best 50.3% from the field in his third NBA season after a shaky sophomore campaign.
Three-point shooting continues to be an issue for Jaquez, though. He entered Thursday shooting 28 of 108 (25.9%) from three-point range this season and has shot 130 of 429 (30.3%) from behind the arc for his NBA career.
“You just got to be efficient,” Jaquez said of his goal moving forward. “I think that’s the most important thing. I always try to be efficient, so it’s really no different. But, obviously, with things like [minutes and shot attempts] going down, you just try to make the most of what you’ve got.”
One thing that remains unchanged is Jaquez’s positive impact. The Heat outscored opponents by 3.1 points per 100 possessions with Jaquez on the court before the break and has outscored opponents by 18.7 points per 100 possessions with Jaquez on the court in the first three games after the break.
Jaquez has already had the $5.9 million fourth-year option in his rookie deal picked up for the 2026-27 season. But he will then become a restricted free agent in the 2027 offseason unless he agrees to an extension with the Heat prior to that summer. Jaquez becomes eligible for that extension from the Heat this upcoming offseason.
“I really embrace it,” Jaquez said of his sixth man role. “I enjoy it. I like spearheading the second unit. It allows me to be extra vocal and kind of lead. Leadership role in that second unit. I just really embrace it.”
POWELL AVAILABLE
Heat starting guard Norman Powell was added to the injury report for Thursday’s matchup against the 76ers, as he was listed as questionable with right groin soreness. But Powell has been upgraded to available and will play.
Powell totaled 26 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting on threes, six rebounds, zero assists and six turnovers in 30 minutes during Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He said after Thursday’s morning shootaround in Philadelphia that he has felt “some groin soreness” for a few days, “even before the Milwaukee game.”
Powell has missed 11 games this season, and four of those absences have come due to groin issues. He missed three straight games from late October to early November because of a strained right groin and then one game in late November because of a strained left groin.
“I just think it’s something that’s built up over time,” Powell said of his current groin injury. “You know, just playing through it and trying to manage it. But yeah, it wasn’t one specific play where I was like, oh, I felt something go or whatever. The accumulative stress in that area.”
Powell, who was Miami’s lone All-Star this season, entered Thursday averaging a team-high 22.9 points per game while shooting 47.5% from the field 39.2% from three-point range in his first season with the Heat. Along with his current groin issue, Powell has also recently been playing through lower back tightness.
“It’s really frustrating,” Powell said of his injuries. “But at this point in the season, I feel like everybody’s going through something. So it’s all about pain tolerance and management. For me, you guys know, I’m going to always try to push through, and I have a very high pain tolerance. .. I try to push my body as much as I can. It’s kind of crazy because coming [to Philadelphia] last time, I had the groin issue on the left side and now I’m dealing with the right. But just continuing to try to manage my body, take care of my body, and be able to be available as much as possible.”
Heat starting guard Davion Mitchell will also play Thursday despite being listed as questionable because of an illness.
But the Heat ruled out Nikola Jovic (lower back injury management) and Terry Rozier (not with team) for Thursday’s game against the 76ers.
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 1:04 PM.
