Just a few weeks ago, Precious Achiuwa probably had the best game of his rookie season. In just 12 minutes – remember, he only plays as Bam Adebayo’s backup – Achiuwa scored 14 points and grabbed seven plates. Just before the All-Star weekend, he was named to the Rising Stars team.
Now why did Adebayo miss time, did we see Achiuwa become an afterthought in the rotation?
In Miami’s two games since the All-Star break, Achiuwa has only scored four and three minutes respectively. And because Adebayo is out, Erik Spoelstra went to the rarely used Chris Silva for some playing time. Before these last two games, Silva last played on January 16 – right after Jimmy Butler and Avery Bradley entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol.
The issue may stem from a moment in the Heat’s victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night when Achiuwa threw the ball away and let Spoelstra’s excitement draw.
To be honest, Silva played some nice defensive games in the win over the Chicago Bulls last night. In his 12 minutes, Silva went 2-for-2 off the field and grabbed three rebounds.
But Silva at his best is still not as good of a player as Achiuwa. And that makes sense – the Heat drafted Achiuwa last year with the 20th pick, while Silva was an unknown player who signed a two-way contract before the 2019-20 season. Does Spoelstra play Silva in front of Achiuwa as a message? Could this be a sign that Miami will include Achiuwa on a deadline and does not want him to risk an injury?
I hope it was just a message Spoelstra sent to Achiuwa that he would have to earn his minutes. Besides Adebayo, the Heat have many holes in the forecourt. KZ Okpala and Moe Harkless have not proved to be suitable replacements for Jae Crowder. Kelly Olynyk is on a career low of three points. Hopefully, Achiuwa can build on his positive development the first half of the season and continue to grow into a solid rotation player.