Up-and-coming Heat star delivers 'uplifting' admission after regular season finale

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat preparing for the first play-in tournament game against the Chicago Bulls, the team is coming off an eye-opening outing in what was a relatively meaningless game. The Heat would lose the regular-season finale to the Washington Wizards as Sunday afternoon allowed players who weren’t given big minutes during the year a chance to stand out.While Jaime Jaquez Jr. did just that with a career-high 41 points, two others that shined in extended minutes were Keshad Johnson and two-way player Josh Christopher. Focusing on the former, Johnson would be elevated to a standard contract earlier in the season and while his name hasn’t been called often, his talent has been talked about throughout the organization.

Against the Wizards, Johnson finished with 17 points on seven of nine shooting from the field to go along with eight rebounds and two steals. A rookie coming out of the University of Arizona who was teammates with fellow first-year player for Miami in Pelle Larsson, Johnson was a top undrafted free agent who sported elite athleticism as he spoke about his “uplifting moment.”

“My opportunity came today with the guys resting and the guys out and everything like that,” Johnson said. “Being out there on the court, with Jaime finally getting it back rolling and everything like that, it’s just an uplifting moment all around. You got to be grateful for it.”

There’s no doubt that Johnson will be one to watch as he gets further developed into Miami’s system.

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on Josh Christopher, Keshad Johnson

Up-and-coming Heat star delivers 'uplifting' admission after regular season finale — Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

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While Jaquez will be remembered for the Heat’s regular-season finale, it’s crucial to acknowledge Johnson’s performance along with Christopher who is one of the three two-way players. The former first-round pick in 2021 joined the organization in January of last season as he was impressive with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s G-League affiliate, and eventually earned the two-way contract.

Known for his scoring ability, it wouldn’t be on display for a little bit as the start against the Wizards was a frustrating one, beginning one of five from the field through three quarters. But the final frame saw him score 15 points on six of 11 shooting from the field, showing why the team believes he can be valuable as head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about Christopher and Johnson’s performance.

“Josh had some big buckets going down the stretch too,” Spoelstra said. “I was reminding the guys, everybody felt that Jaime, obviously, was on the roll. But I want everybody to still be a live option. It can’t just be one on five, when everybody knows that you’re overdoing it, trying to get Jaime ball and I thought Jaime did a good job getting off the ball at the appropriate time those last four or five minutes.”

“And Josh was a recipient of those a couple times,” Spoelstra continued. “He was able to get some threes and get some plays in the paint that were important. And, KJ, I thought the best thing that he did was when we started defending and switching, I think that’s one of his strengths, was to be able to play a big and then if you need to switch, and if you have a switchable lineup out there, he’s fully comfortable playing on the perimeter.”