Heat rookie Nikola Jovic flashing potential despite growing pains. Also, Smith back on two-way
Before the Miami Heat’s rash of injuries, the possibility of sending rookie forward Nikola Jovic to the G League was real just to get him some game minutes. But the Heat’s ailing roster has instead created an opportunity for Jovic to get that in-game experience at the NBA level.
After playing a total of just 24 minutes in the Heat’s first 14 games of the season, Jovic, 19, entered Friday night’s matchup against the Washington Wizards at FTX Arena with 121 minutes played in the last five games because of Miami’s injury issues. He has made his first five NBA starts during that stretch.
“Those are important, for sure,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the minutes Jovic has been called on to play recently. “He’s a young player, but he has some pro experience even though it’s a different league overseas. He picks up things quickly and he also has pride in what he does. He wants to do it right. He wants to be reliable for his team.”
Jovic, who played in the Serbian league last season before being drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft, has averaged 9.8 points while shooting 35.9 percent from the field and 4 of 18 (22.2 percent) from three-point range, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.3 minutes per game in his first five NBA starts.
Those numbers appear underwhelming at the surface, but it’s Jovic’s flashes of potential and unique skill set on the offensive end as a 6-11 and 225-pound forward that has left those within the organization intrigued. He’s averaging more passes made (31.4 per game) than passes received (27.8) during the five-game stretch leading into Friday’s contest, and has served as a screener who can finish around the basket and make the right read on a short roll or as a spot-up shooter in a floor-spacing role.
“He has really good offensive instincts not only as a passer but as a screener, how to get into open spaces, how to execute different things and then his passing and his vision,” Spoelstra said. “As soon as he got here, that was probably his No. 1 strength — his ability to make other guys better. And he’s not afraid of the moment. So he’s comfortable out there, he’s earning the respect of everybody in the locker room and he’s earning his stripes right now.”
Jovic isn’t as far along on the defensive end, though. Even in Jovic’s recent starts, he has remained on the bench late in close games as Spoelstra has opted to play developmental prospects like Orlando Robinson, Jamal Cain and Haywood Highsmith over him because they offer more of a defensive presence.
Jovic did not play in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 105-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves or Wednesday’s 113-105 win against the Wizards. Entering Friday, those guarded by Jovic have shot 62.3 percent from the field, according to NBA tracking stats, which is 12.7 percentage points better than those players’ combined average shooting percentage for the season.
“I was looking at all the mistakes, you know,” Jovic said when asked to assess his first few NBA starts. “Good things, I’m working on them always. But the bad things, probably just my rebounding could have been a lot better. I should probably talk more on defense. I should be louder and stuff to help my teammates. Those are the bad things I need to improve.”
The Heat has used Jovic primarily as a drop defender against pick-and-rolls as opposed to having him switch on to different positions. Opponents are scoring 1.11 points per pick-and-roll that Jovic defends, according to Synergy Sports, which is in the NBA’s 11th percentile.
“I think I’ve improved a lot,” Jovic said of where he’s at as a drop defender. “I’ve been working on it. It’s like our base coverage for me, so we’re working a lot on it. I just need more work, for sure.”
Jovic also entered Friday averaging just 6.2 rebounds per 36 minutes this season, which is only ahead of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin on the Heat’s roster.
“It’s hard because I can’t be that physical with other guys because I’m skinnier and I need to put some weight on,” Jovic said of his rebounding struggles. “But I’m doing it as much as I can. That’s all that matters.”
The bottom line is that Jovic is better than he was at summer league five months ago and he’s already better than he was at Heat training camp two months ago. In the middle of an injury-filled stretch for the Heat that included an 0-4 trip, his play has represented one of the few positives for the team.
“Niko’s skill set, I think can fit with a lot of different lineups,” Spoelstra said. “He tends to make other guys better. Once you realize on a basketball court, who can pass and who’s a willing passer and who can get you easy baskets, you don’t even need to coach it. People then all of a sudden become great cutters because they’re motivated to get a score. He has a great feel for that. That’s one of the positives from this road trip.
“There were some positives and Niko was one of them. I thought his minutes were solid. They weren’t perfect, but you can’t expect them to be. What I saw is he’s gotten a lot better since summer league and he’s gotten a lot better since training camp. It’s been pretty diligent work to get to this point.”
TWO-WAY NEWS
The Heat announced before Friday’s game that it waived center Orlando Robinson from his two-way contract to bring back guard Dru Smith on a two-way deal.
Smith opened the regular season on a two-way contract with the Heat before he was waived on Nov. 13 to bring in Robinson. At that point, Miami was in need of the frontcourt depth Robinson provided because Bam Adebayo was dealing with a knee injury.
“We’re encouraged by both of them,” Spoelstra said of Robinson and Smith. “In a perfect world, we would be able to develop both of them all season long. These are extreme circumstances right now. We have obviously some guys out. We feel right now, which is different than a week or two ago, we need some more reinforcement at the perimeter position. So Dru is ready, in rhythm and looks great. The best ability is availability, and he was here just like in a snap of a finger.”
Robinson and Smith have already both spent time with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this season. They were also part of the Heat’s summer league team this year.
INJURY REPORT
The Heat ruled out Jimmy Butler (right knee soreness), Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis), Duncan Robinson (left ankle sprain), Strus (right shoulder impingement) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) for Friday’s game against the Wizards.
The Wizards were without Johnny Davis (right groin soreness), Rui Hachimura (right ankle soreness), Monte Morris (right ankle soreness) and Delon Wright (right hamstring strain) for Friday’s game in Miami.
This story was originally published November 25, 2022 at 10:13 AM.
