Skyforce Two-Way Profile: Jamal Cain

On Sunday, October 9 the Miami HEAT signed Jamal Cain  to a two-way contracts. Cain will be rostered with the HEAT and the Sioux Falls Skyforce to start the 2022-23 season. In this continued series, we will highlight and show fans what to expect from Cain as the NBA G League season tips off in less than a month. 

Jamal Cain fits the prototypical Miami HEAT build for a wing: play tenacious defense, space the floor and be efficient on offense.

“He has the work ethic, he has the potential,” HEAT Head Coach Erik Spoelstra said via Couper Moorhead's Notebook series. “He’s raw, but you can see his athleticism, you can see his competitiveness.”

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It's been quite the ride the last 12 months for the 6-7, 190-pound forward out of Pontiac, Michigan. From betting on himself on a transfer from Marquette to Oakland, to steadily improving in NBA Summer League and preseason, Cain has been making a name for himself on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami.

After playing four seasons with the Golden Eagles of Marquette, Cain benefitted from a change of scenery. He upped his points per game by over 10 points (19.9 points on 49.9 percent shooting) at Oakland. He also added 10.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Cain was the only Horizon League student-athlete to average double digits in points and rebounds.

Just like many of the HEAT reserve players, Cain went undrafted in the NBA Draft (2022). He then signed to play with Miami ahead of the 2022 NBA Summer League.

Cain appeared in five games for Miami, where he averaged 8.0 points on 46.2 percent shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per 19.3 minutes a game. In his last Summer League game, he showed his double-double capabilities like he did in college, with an 11-point, 11-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Clippers.

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After showing steady progress, he inked an Exhibit-10 deal and spent the rest of the offseason in Miami working on his game, most notably on offense.

That surge and development in less than three months has been very promising. So far, in four preseason games with the HEAT, Cain is averaging 12.8 points on 51.4 percent shooting (41.7 percent from three), 6.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per 24.8 minutes a game.

Cain shot 0-5 from beyond the arc in Summer League, and it was not a consistent part of his game. In preseason, he has shown the ability to shoot efficiently.

“Yeah, it’s crazy. I was talking to one of my guys about that,” Cain told Cory Nelson of Inside the HEAT. “I could always shoot. It’s just my past year, I was more, like, playing inside the paint. So I didn’t get a chance to show off my three-ball but I’m more confident now, especially now that I can space the floor now. Rather than in college.”

In his last three games, Cain has scored 15, 19 and 15 points, while shooting over 50 percent from the field in all. With the focus on his offensive improvement, his defense has also improved, as he has games of six rebounds (twice), 11 rebounds and has had a game of five steals, as well.

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Talk about someone with a high motor on both ends.

The fit seems to be ideal: an undrafted, overlooked, athletic player with the work ethic to match his potential.

“Players with potential that might not have the hype around them, I feel like they give them a great opportunity," Cain said via Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "And I feel like that was perfect for me because I didn’t have a lot of hype.

"But I feel like I can bring a lot to the table, just in terms of my competitiveness and my athletic ability and being able to guard multiple positions and being able to knock down open shots.”

Skyforce fans tend to love a player that puts in the same effort on both offense and defense. Expect that, and then some, from Cain.

As HEAT Center Bam Adebayo said, "This is Jamal Cain, man. Realize who this is. This is Jamal Cain. He’s going to be in the league for a long time. This is my dawg, man.”

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