Miami Heat’s Jamal Cain Gets Praise From Bam Adebayo
The Miami Heat won Thursday's preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets. There were many notable performances in the 109-80 victory, but arguably the biggest was by rookie forward Jamal Cain.
Cain had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. He led the Heat in steals and rebounds while logging the second-highest scoring performance behind Bam Adebayo. His presence on both ends of the floor gives the team more two-way players, which is something Heat president Pat Riley has emphasized.
Adebayo showed admiration for Cain after the game was over.
“This is Jamal Cain,” Adebayo said. “Realize who this is. He’s gonna be in the league for a long time. This is my dawg man.”
Miami has a lack of depth at power forward. Caleb Martin is the projected starter at that position, but he has not solidified himself in that role. Players like Cain give the Heat options at the four.
Cain also continues the trend of undrafted players in Miami. The Marquette and Oakland product was not selected by an NBA team coming out of the 2022 NBA draft. Many of the successful players on the Heat have developed in the organization after going undrafted, such as Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent. Miami has excelled in transforming undrafted talent into quality role players, and Cain is the latest example of this.
The Heat will play the Memphis Grizzlies Friday at 8 p.m.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
