After Jaime Jaquez Jr.\u2019s homecoming in Mexico City last week, the Miami Heat\u2019s second-year forward was forced to spend some time at home in Miami because of a stomach illness. But Jaquez rejoined the Heat in Denver after missing two straight games with his stomach ailment.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s listed as questionable for Friday night\u2019s matchup against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena because of \u201creturn to competition reconditioning.\u201d \u201cI think I had a little stomach flu, stomach virus, something of that sort and I felt it coming back from Mexico,\u201d Jaquez said to Heat TV and radio broadcaster Jason Jackson in Denver following the Heat\u2019s shootaround on Friday morning. \u201cI ate something from a store, it didn\u2019t sit well with me. So for the past couple days, I\u2019ve been dealing with that. But I\u2019m feeling a lot better now. So I decided to come back and join the team. Here I am.\u201d Jaquez is feeling better, but he\u2019s still working to regain some of the strength that he lost during the last few days in the wake of his stomach illness. That has his status for Friday\u2019s game still up in the air. \u201cI think the staff does such a great job of making sure us as players are in the best possible shape to return to play,\u201d Jaquez said. \u201cSo I just trust in their process and whatever they believe in. They\u2019re the professionals. I try to communicate with them to the best of what I\u2019m feeling and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last game Jaquez played in came in Mexico City, when the Heat defeated the Washington Wizards on Saturday. It was a special night for Jaquez, who is the first player with Mexican citizenship to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. But since then, Jaquez has been forced to watch two straight games on TV because of his stomach illness. The Heat lost both games that he missed. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely frustrating not being out there playing with my guys,\u201d Jaquez, 23, said. \u201cBut being a spectator gives you a new perspective on the team. I can come back and share what I see from an outside perspective. Not being there, just looking at the game from afar. So just trying to bring that perspective, talking to the coaches, give input on what I saw and things that we can do better and things I feel like here\u2019s a spot I could have been in. Honestly, just happy to be back with the guys.\u201d Jaquez, who has been used in a sixth-man role off the bench to begin his second NBA season, entered Friday averaging 9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in five appearances this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks good,\u201d Spoelstra said of Jaquez after Friday\u2019s shootaround. \u201cHe\u2019s got to regain some strength. But it definitely is good to have him back in the mix.\u201d While Jaquez\u2019s status is still uncertain, the Heat has already ruled out Kevin Love (return to competition reconditioning), Josh Christopher (G League) and Keshad Johnson (G League) for Friday\u2019s game against the Nuggets. Love missed the first five games of the season because of personal reasons before rejoining the team earlier this week. But Love will sit out his third straight game on Friday \u2014 after returning to the team \u2014 as he works his way back into game shape. The Nuggets remain without Vlatko Cancar (right ankle sprain), Aaron Gordon (right calf strain), PJ Hall (G League) and DaRon Holmes II (right Achilles tendon repair) against the Heat. But Denver upgraded guard Jamal Murray to questionable after he missed the last three games while in concussion protocol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After Jaime Jaquez Jr.\u2019s homecoming in Mexico City last week, the Miami Heat\u2019s second-year forward was forced to spend some time at home in Miami because of… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n