Inside The Heat

Miami Heat's Jaime Jaquez Unlikely To Play For Mexico In Olympics This Summer

Shandel Richardson

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez is likely to skip playing for Mexico in the Olympics this summer.

He recently made the revelation while speaking at the Heat's exit interviews last week. The time off should give him the opportunity to heal after sustaining a hip injury against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The issue caused him to miss the Heat's season-ending loss in Game 5.

It should provide time for Jaquez to work on his game.

After finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race, he listed things he wants to improve in the offseason. They were becoming a better defender, spot-up shooter and handling defensive schemes.

"I would say sometimes they would try to send two [defenders]," Jaquez said. "In the post is where I think the report was out on me. Just develop a counter on reading defenses and understanding how to still get to my shots." 

Jaquez and second-year forward Nikola Jovic both made great strides this season. They were given valuable playoff experience in the Play-In Tournament and the first round against the Celtics.

Both started each game they played in the series.

"Their talent is through the roof, the potential that they have," Heat guard Patty Mills said. "I think you've seen them from game reps, from game situations, you've seen them improve basketball IQ wise. From getting experience in hard, playoff basketball. Having that talent and experience at such a young age is going to be huge for them in the long run." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here