Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s injury absence opens up major opportunity for this Heat player

MIAMI – Though Miami Heat star Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been getting Sixth Man of the Year award buzz for his impressive third season in the league, the team is at risk of losing the UCLA product for an unknown amount of time. While Jaquez has been a great example for the Heat in executing its identity, his absence will be missed, as there are players on the team who could try to fill in the void.

Jaquez would sustain a right ankle sprain in the first half of Saturday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, as Miami would say that he would be likely to return, but later be ruled out for the rest of the game. Though Jaquez’s injury doesn’t appear to be too serious, his ability to get downhill and be an offensive sparkplug as the sixth man will be sorely missed, but luckily, one player returns from injury that could fit right in.

Pelle Larsson had missed the last two games with an ankle sprain of his own, as he’s also acted as an energizer for the Heat, having the ability to drive to the paint and provide defensive intensity. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would say that Larsson can fit relatively the same role as Jaquez, but “in a different way.”

“Yeah, [Larsson] can do some of it. He does it in a different way,” Spoelstra said before Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. “But pace can also take care of some of that. It’ll have to be in a lot of different other buckets.”

“So other guys will be able to touch the paint in their own ways, but we do need to get our paint numbers up from where they were last night,” Spoelstra continued

Erik Spoelstra on with Pelle Larsson returning, if he can fill in some of those traits that will be missing from Jaime Jaquez Jr.

“Yeah, he can do some of it, he does it in a different way…” #HeatNation

Full response: pic.twitter.com/fSM6YyLruU

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 4, 2026

Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. discusses ankle injury

With Larsson being labeled as one of the glues of the Heat by many within the team, he hopes to at least bring a fraction of what Jaquez offers, along with Nikola Jovic and others off the bench. Looking at Jaquez’s injury, he would accidentally step on Minnesota star Julius Randle’s foot when trying to defend the big man, and though he was said to be likely to return, he would be ruled out after, explaining what led to the confusion.

“I just tried running, tried running, tried moving around on it, and it wasn’t really feeling right,” Jaquez said after Miami’s loss to the Timberwolves on Saturday. “So that’s what caused that decision.”

Videos of Jaime Jaquez Jr. speaking after the game about his ankle sprain. Would say he wouldn’t know more until tomorrow.

“I think Julius was trying to get me back from what I did to him a couple years ago on the Knicks, I’m just kidding…”#HeatNation pic.twitter.com/a2IPfZmTgo

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 4, 2026

Julius Randle with an ankle breaker on Jaime Jaquez Jr., who also steps on Randle's foot, and forced to be subbed out due to an injury (with replays) pic.twitter.com/Bj8kZaT3bZ

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 4, 2026

Jaquez has been in the midst of an impressive season, coming off a frustrating second year after a standout rookie campaign. This season, Jaquez leads all bench scorers in total points, averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, as he’s been getting major buzz for Sixth Man of the Year, as mentioned before.

The 24-year-old would be asked if he would play against the Pelicans, saying that while he would have to see the next morning, “these things take time to heal.” He would eventually be ruled out for the contest.

“These things take time to heal. Kind of like what happened last time when I had this little tweak. You really know the next day. The next day is kind of a good indicator of where you sit in the game,” Jaquez said Saturday night.

At any rate, it remains to be seen when Jaquez comes back with the Heat embarking on a four-game road trip after Sunday’s game, starting Tuesday against the Timberwolves.

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