Miami Heat: Derrick Jones Jr. could be ready to break-out

On the back on his best preparation to date, the sky is the limit this season for high-flyer Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat.

Considering the incredibly high standards set by the Miami Heat organization, it’s certainly noteworthy when your offseason preparations receive special praise.

In the same week that co-captain James Johnson was banished from the opening of training camp for failing to live up to the required conditioning standards, forward Derrick Jones Jr. was singled out by head coach Erik Spoelstra in acknowledging the mountain of work he had put in over the offseason.

In expressing his admiration for Jones, Spoelstra noted per Joe Beguiristain of Heat.com.

"“He logged the most workouts in our facility over the course of the offseason, and I think you’ll see a stronger, more efficient, capable athlete in terms of keeping himself healthy and keeping himself available and being reliable to the team.”"

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Entering his third season with the Heat, the 22-year-old Jones has primarily been identified up until this point for his high-flying exploits. Unquestionably one of the most explosive athletes in the league, Jones’ overall game has still left a lot to be desired.

In 112 career games, the 6’7″ Jones is a career 28.3 percent shooter from 3-point range, with his 91 attempts last season his eclipsing his 29 total attempts up that point.

Overall, Jones averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game, with his current offensive game consisting primarily of finishing at the basket and spot-up three’s. Just 8.9 percent of his total field goal attempts came between 5-19 feet from the rim, thus showing his current limitations.

Aside from his conditioning work this summer, Jones’ other main focus this past summer was his perimeter shooting, as he outlined recently at the start of training camp, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

"“I’m a sharpshooter now. I hope [defenders] play me the same way. Don’t box out, leave me open. If you all do that, I might average 20. They are going to foul me and I’m going to hit my free throws.”"

However, it’s at the defensive end of the floor in which Jones can prove to be a legitimate difference-maker moving forward. With a crazy seven-foot wingspan, Jones managed to record 10 games of multiple blocks last season despite limited overall playing time. Furthermore, the Heat posted a 9-3 record when Jones recorded multiple steals and were 2.1 points per 100 possessions better defensively with him on the floor.

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Among the players in the league who played at least 60 games with 20 minutes or less per game, Jones ranked fourth with 1.4 deflections per game.

With the aforementioned Johnson not training with the team for the foreseeable future and the versatile Kelly Olynyk also on the sidelines for the coming weeks with a knee injury, the chance for Jones to receive significant minutes and have a real place in the rotation to commence the season is significant.

So while he’s started on just 30 occasions thus far in his career, the level of work he’s put in over the summer combined with his natural development at age 22  could ensure that Derrick Jones Jr. produces one of the genuine breakout seasons in the league in 2019-20.