Nikola Jovic #5 of the Miami Heat
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Nikola Jovic #5 of the Miami Heat
It’s been four NBA seasons now for Miami Heat 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic, and in that time it’s mostly been one step forward and two steps back. Any time that Jovic appears to show some promise, his defensive deficiencies shine through, he is demoted from the starting lineup or from the rotation altogether, and he doesn’t show enough determination to fight his way back in.
Jovic should be blossoming now at age 22, but instead, he is in the midst of his worst NBA season (8.1 points, 37.1% shooting, 28.5% 3-point shooting), and it’s fair to wonder whether he has a real future in the league, or at least with Erik Spoelstra and the Heat. Because Spoelstra, for one, seems to be very down on the prospect of finding a consistent spot for Jovic.
Jovic played just 3:54 in the opener of the Heat’s four-game road trip against the Warriors, but with the injury to Kel’el Ware, he has been called on to play bigger minutes. He played a little more than 36 minutes in the Heat’s last two games. The results: 13 points in total, and 10 rebounds, with a miserable 26.3% shooting mark.
Nikola Jovic Struggling With His Shooting as Miami Heat Slide
Of special concern is that Jovic was only 3-for-12 from the 3-point line, and if there is an advantage the Heat should have when Jovic is on the floor, it’s that he’s a stretch big guy. But his shooting has been way off this season, after he made 39.9% of his 3s in his second season and 37.1% last year.
“When he plays at the five, it opens things up for us,” Spoelstra said via the Sun-Sentinel. “I mean, he had, all of his shots were basically wide open. We want him to play with assertiveness, with confidence. He’s so important to what we do. And this is part of being a professional basketball player.”
The Heat have mostly used Jovic at power forward during his career, but with the team lacking a true backup for Bam Adebayo–Ware is the No. 2 center at this point–Jovic has gotten more minutes there than in the past. Jovic played center about 15% of his time on the floor in his first three NBA seasons, but is at about 39% this year, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Erik Spoelstra
GettyMiami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra.
Erik Spoelstra Calls Out Nikola Jovic
In his brief NBA career, one of the Miami Heat’s consistent issues with Jovic has been his inability to thrive after adversity–he tends to retreat into his shell rather than respond. And with the Heat having lost six out of their last nine, they will need more from Jovic.
Spoelstra recently called out Ware for a lack of consistency, comments he walked back later. But he is more familiar with calling out Jovic over the years.
“We have to show some grit, and Niko’s got to show some grit right now to be able to fight through it,” Spoelstra said. “You’re always going to go through ups and downs, and when it’s a little bit tough, that’s when actually you can have a great breakthrough.”
The Heat have two more games remaining on their road trip, a back-to-back in Utah and Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday. Ware, out with a hamstring injury, was sent home to Miami for rehab.