Heat's Kasparas Jakucionis: Left out of rotation Friday

Now Playing

Link copied!

Jakucionis (coach's decision) went unused off the bench Friday in the Heat's 98-96 loss to the Celtics.

After playing in each of Miami's last 12 games while averaging 4.8 points, 3.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 19.3 minutes per contest, Jakucionis found himself outside of the rotation as the Heat welcomed Norman Powell (personal) and Andrew Wiggins (hamstring) back from three- and one-game absences, respectively. Though Jakucionis is a superior playmaker to Dru Smith, the Heat appear to place more value in what Smith brings to the table defensively as the backup point guard in the second unit. With Davion Mitchell back to full health and Tyler Herro (ribs) perhaps returning at some point later this month, Jakucionis may not have a path to regular playing time now that Miami is inching closer to full strength.