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Just a few weeks ago, Precious Achiuwa arguably had the best game of his rookie season. In just 12 minutes – remember, he’s only playing as a Bam Adebayo substitute – Achiuwa scored 14 points and grabbed seven tables. Right before the All-Star weekend, he was named to the Rising Stars squad.
So why, now that Adebayo has missed the time, have we seen Achiuwa become an afterthought in the rotation?
In Miami’s two games since the All-Star break, Achiuwa has recorded just four and three minutes, respectively. And because Adebayo came out, Erik Spoelstra went to the rarely used Chris Silva for a while. Prior to those last two games, Silva last played on Jan.16 – right after Jimmy Butler and Avery Bradley entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
The problem may stem from a moment in the Heat’s win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night when Achiuwa threw the ball away, drawing Spoelstra’s ire.
To be fair, Silva made some great defensive play in last night’s win over the Chicago Bulls. In his 12 minutes, Silva went 2 for 2 on the court and caught three rebounds.
But Silva at his best is still not as good as Achiuwa. And that makes sense – the Heat drafted Achiuwa with the 20th pick last year, while Silva was an undrafted player who signed a bilateral contract ahead of the 2019-20 season. Does Spoelstra play Silva before Achiuwa as a message? Could that be a sign Miami will include Achiuwa in a deadline deal and don’t want him to risk getting hurt?
Hope this was just a message Spoelstra sent Achiuwa that he will need to save his minutes. The Heat have a lot of holes in the front, apart from Adebayo. KZ Okpala and Moe Harkless have not proven to be suitable replacements for Jae Crowder. Kelly Olynyk takes a career low from 3 points. Hopefully Achiuwa can build on his positive development this first half of the season and continue to grow into a solid player in rotation.
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