Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. Named Eastern Conference Rookie Of The Month For October And November
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The Miami Heat are the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference through 20 games, but perhaps the brightest spot this season is rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The UCLA forward was recently named the NBA’s Eastern Conference rookie of the month for games played in October and November. Jaquez averaged 12 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in this span of contests.
He is the best of Miami’s first-year additions, ahead of names such as Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant. Outside of the stats, Jaquez's confidence translates to a veteran-like presence on the floor aside from Jimmy Butler. These abilities are resulting in Jaquez consistently playing the entire fourth quarter in close games.
"He has a poise about him that he can be aggressive and also read the defense," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jaquez. "I think that's just born out of a lot of experience. He's played in a lot of big college basketball games where he had to make decision after decision after decision for that team to be successful."
Meanwhile, the Western Conference award went to former No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Through these months, Holmgren averaged 17.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks.
Jaquez is a much-needed factor on a Heat team that is struggling to remain among championship contenders so far.
Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat.
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