ASK IRA: Do Heat have to prioritize Jakucionis development?

Q: Ira, we can’t afford to not be playing Kasparas Jackucionis, no matter who is back. You develop by playing. – Greg.

A: No, you develop by developing, which can be done in practice or the G League. What you don’t want is for such a player to grow stagnant by sitting. Erik Spoelstra addressed this after practice on Wednesday, citing the value of having Kasparas Jakucionis around the team, learning from the team’s veterans. As it is, with Pelle Larsson now out with another ankle sprain, Kasparas likely will be back in the mix on Thursday night in Detroit. The real question will be what happens when Tyler Herro returns. At that point, Kasparas likely will be sent back to the G League for the type of consistent minutes that won’t be available with the Heat (barring another injury elsewhere on the roster).

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Q: Ira, you point out when the Heat move out of the play-in, but you don’t when they fall back. It has to be more than just getting No. 6. – Eric.

A: Oh, don’t kid yourself, after three straight seasons in the play-in, No. 6 seed would be fine, even if it could mean facing a Celtics roster that gets Jayson Tatum back for the postseason, Again, not selling Erik Spoelstra or this Heat roster short, but it will be a challenge to finish in the top six in the East, when considering they aren’t catching the Pistons and Knicks, likely won’t catch the Celtics, and then face the daunting challenges of closing ahead of the Cavaliers, 76ers and Magic, let alone the Raptors. The irony is the Heat close their regular season April 12 at home against the Hawks, which could be for play-in seeding.

Q: Hi, Ira. Bam Adebayo, with your elite athletic skills and size, you should be a force in the paint. You should be near the top of the league in offensive rebounding, not 96th. You should be feared protecting the rim. I don’t know if it’s your desire to be more like … Jayson Tatum? But, eight years into your career, your coaches are failing you by not maximizing your talent. I love Bam. He appears to be a great guy, a great leader. He has great footwork, strength, and effort. It’s fine that in today’s game he shoots some threes, some inside-the-foul-line jumpers (although when he misses there is invariably no one there to rebound). But I don’t understand what the coaches are trying to get out of Bam. At this point in his career, he is not a go-to scorer. – Ed.

A: Nor is anyone expecting him to be. At this point the Heat have to get to a place where there is a comfort in Bam Adebayo being someone who scores in the teens, and move on from there. Counting on him to be one of your leading scorers is misguided.