From Heat starter to out of rotation, Nikola Jovic knows ‘I just have to be better’
Nikola Jovic closed last season as the Miami Heat’s starting power forward and began this season as the Heat’s starting power forward. But now, Jovic is out of the Heat’s rotation.
“Of course, I’m frustrated just because I’m not playing,” Jovic, 21, said. “But it just shows you that I can keep working on myself. That’s what I’m doing now. You got to gain that trust back from the coaches and everyone.”
That’s Jovic’s mission after falling out of the Heat’s starting lineup nine games into the season following the team’s shaky 3-5 start and then completely falling out of the rotation 15 games into the season.
After starting in the Heat’s first eight games and playing in each of the Heat’s first 14 games, Jovic has not appeared in a game since the Heat’s Nov. 24 home win against the Dallas Mavericks. He has not played in the Heat’s past six games, missing two of those games because of a sprained left ankle that he sustained during a workout and going down as a healthy scratch in the four other games during this stretch.
“I know I’m good enough. I know I’m a good player,” said Jovic, who returned from his sprained ankle to be available for Wednesday’s home win against the Los Angeles Lakers but did not play. “I don’t think it’s that. It’s the style of basketball play, the things that coach wants from certain lineups, it’s just something that, I guess, I’m not fitting right now. That’s why I got to work on those things and get back. I’m really not questioning how good I am now.”
Jovic has averaged 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 14 of 44 (31.8 percent) from three-point range in his 14 appearances this season. The Heat has been outscored by 4.3 points per 100 possessions with Jovic on the court this season, which is the second-worst individual net rating on the team ahead of only Josh Richardson.
Which aspects of his game does Jovic think he needs to improve to regain a spot in the Heat’s rotation?
“I don’t think there’s one thing,” Jovic said, with the Heat (10-10) set to continue its homestand with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns (12-9) on Saturday at Kaseya Center (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “I got to work on everything. Maybe three-point shooting, this year it hasn’t been great. I don’t think it was awful, but it should be better. I feel like you always got to improve. I don’t really have one thing I can tell you right now that I got to improve, but just my overall game.”
Once considered a weak spot in the team’s defense, Jovic doesn’t believe his defense is what led to him falling out of the Heat’s rotation this season.
“I really feel good, especially when we play certain teams that choose matchups,” Jovic said of his individual defense. “Now when I switch on them, it’s not like a matchup that they’re really not looking for. So that’s something that’s telling me that now I can be a good defender. I’m not saying I’m a great defender right now. But I know for a fact that I’m not a liability.”
While playing as part of a Heat starting lineup that also included Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in each of the first eight games of the season, Jovic’s role was to space the floor as a spot-up shooter and use his passing and knack for pushing the pace to play as a connector around the leading trio of Adebayo, Butler and Herro. But that starting lineup was dominated by 20.8 points per 100 possessions in 91 minutes together over the first eight games, prompting Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to make a change and move Jovic to the bench.
“First of all, I want to start. That’s the main thing,” said Jovic, who is in the middle of his third NBA season after being selected by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2022 Draft. “But it’s hard to really show yourself with the first unit. I don’t mind it. But if you’re not winning, someone who’s probably going to fall out of the first unit, it’s probably going to be me or whoever is that fifth guy. It’s really hard to be good. You got to be in the right spot and everything. But it’s an honor to be in the first unit.”
When Jovic was moved to the bench, he produced some encouraging moments in a role that allowed him to show off different layers of his skill set. In his first game as a reserve this season, Jovic totaled 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range, seven rebounds and one assist while making the game-winning basket in the Heat’s road victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 10.
“When I was coming off the bench, it was just way easier to show what I can do because you just get the ball more,” Jovic said. “But both roles are something that I really enjoy. They’re just different roles. In that first unit, maybe I just have to be great at spot-ups and a few transitions. But in the second unit, I get the ball more, which makes me attack more and play in the low post. So I don’t mind both roles. But at this point, the coaching staff is trying to figure out what the units are going to look like.”
And Jovic is trying to figure out how he can earn consistent playing time again.
“He just has to stay with it,” Spoelstra said of his message to Jovic. “You know that saying where you win the day? He has to win the day every day. Is he guaranteed of playing in a game? No, he can’t control that right now. But he can control making me think about it — that, for sure. The way to do that is in practice sessions, prepractice, the approach at shootarounds, everything to be at a high level just to make you watch, and then eventually you get your opportunity, you make me play you.
“Then if you’re playing, you make me not even think about playing somebody else. When you’re impacting winning and doing winning things and doing the detailed things with great effort and focus, that usually leads to those.”
Jovic has been in this position before, as he played in just four of the Heat’s first 30 games last season before his eventual promotion to the starting group.
“It’s not the first time this has happened and probably not the last,” said Jovic, who has flashed an impressive combination of size and skill at 6-foot-10 and 205 pounds when he has been at his best. “I just got to keep working and that’s it. That’s the only thing I can do now, work on myself so I can crack that rotation again and improve myself. I just have to be better and that’s it.”
A conversation with Spoelstra isn’t needed for Jovic to realize that.
“It’s pretty obvious,” Jovic said. “He doesn’t need to tell me I need to be better for me to actually try to get better. We really haven’t talked a lot. It’s just basically staying ready, preparing. Chances always come. It’s nothing new and I know I’ll be back.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat ruled out Josh Christopher and Kel’el Ware for Saturday’s game against the Suns. Both Christopher and Ware are in the G League with the Heat’s developmental affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The Heat also listed Pelle Larsson as questionable after he sprained his right ankle during Friday’s practice. Butler is probable to play due to right knee soreness.
The Suns ruled out Jalen Bridges (G League), Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain), Collin Gillespie (G League) and Jusuf Nurkic (right thigh contusion) for Saturday’s game in Miami.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 1:00 PM.
