"Jaquez's turnaround has been, frankly, jarring to see. Sure, he popped as a rookie in 2023-24 (ultimately earning All-Rookie first-team honors), but he fell so flat in his sophomore season, it felt like his hype train might be permanently out of service. That clearly isn't the case, but where is this story going next? Can he really move into centerpiece status, or might his limitations lead him to another letdown?"
"This up-tempo, egalitarian approach on offense has provided the perfect platform for his downhill attacking and secondary playmaking, but since he has a clearly limited scoring range (31.3 percent from three for his career; 3-of-15 this season), he basically must be a star-level scorer and table-setter to offset his shortcomings. And as much as I'd love to believe in these early signs, that feels like asking too much."
Third-year forward Jaquez produced a surprising early-season resurgence in 2025-26, overtaking expectations among Miami Heat young players. He earned All-Rookie first-team honors in 2023-24 but endured a disappointing sophomore campaign before the current turnaround. The Heat's up-tempo, egalitarian offense complements his downhill attacking and secondary playmaking strengths. He remains limited by a narrow scoring range, shooting 31.3 percent from three for his career and 3-of-15 to start the season, which forces him to serve as a primary scorer and creator to cover deficiencies. Defenses can exploit those shortcomings, especially in playoff settings, and the sample size remains small.
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