MIAMI – As the Miami Heat are getting a huge boost with Tyler Herro returning to practice after missing the last 15 games, another player on the team who's chasing consistency is Nikola Jovic. While Jovic's fourth Heat season has been an extended slump, the 22-year-old spoke honestly about his year and what he's looking to address.
With 26 games left in the season, Joviv is looking to help Miami win games any way he possibly can, though his minutes have been up-and-down, averaging 17.9 minutes, the least since his rookie season. There's no doubt that it's been a rough season for Jovic, getting used to the team's new fast-paced style of offense, as he's averaging 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 37 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from deep.
The “repetitive” area that Heat's Nikola Jovic is looking to get rid of
Jovic spoke to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview after Thursday's practice, and emphasized how there's been a “repetitive” trend this season with his inconsistent outings and conversations with head coach Erik Spoelstra.
When it comes to his performances, he cites how he'll play well for a few games, then regress, lose playing time, and then find himself out of the rotation. Looking to erase that trend, Jovic is certain it's not a mental issue that's hampering him.
“Spo [Spoelstra] called me a few times in his office. And it's usually the same thing, he always asks me, how can he help me?… But at this point, usually the same; I'll play good for a couple of games, and my minutes will go down, and then I'll be out of the rotation. I'll come back, look good again. And it's kind of getting repetitive to the point where when I sit with Spo, it's like we're just trying to understand what to do.”
“But it's not easy, but like I said, it's not a confidence thing. I really believe in myself. I know how good I am. It's just a weird season, the way we play, the way the team works. You know, it's just weird. But Spo is really trying to help me, and I'm really trying to help the team. It's just at this point, it's really repetitive, where kind of the same things are going…So, yeah, we're still trying to figure stuff out.”
Heat's Nikola Jovic on a much-needed All-Star break
With the Heat looking to turn around their season, Jovic is looking to do the same individually, as he's shown many flashes throughout his young career that he could help the team in a myriad of ways. The team feels the same way, as the 2022 first-round pick was rewarded with a four-year, $62.4 million contract extension back in October.
Having the ability to be a point-forward, giving positional versatility to Miami, he's looking to get back to providing key minutes off the bench or when he's in the starting lineup. There's no doubt that a reset was needed for Jovic as the All-Star break comes at a perfect time, saying to ClutchPoints that it helped physically to rest the body, but also take his mind off of basketball for a bit.
“Coming off a tough Eurobasket that I had, I came right here, and I was trying to look as good as possible. So I didn't really stop working out. So this break really helped my minor injuries that I had, kind of settled down,” Jovic said. “Mentally, it was good. I was with a couple of my friends. It was a good thing for me mentally, just not thinking much about basketball, but at the same time, trying to figure out what I want to do and how I want to make sure I look better when I come back.”
Jovic would speak on the importance of the mental side being well taken care of and important for any basketball player, but would double down on how that hasn't been a hurdle this season.
“I'm happy every morning I wake up, I'm happy every time I go to sleep. And I think that's something that's really important,” Jovic said. “Basketball is something that I know I'm good at. And even though maybe some people think I'm not doing great this year…I feel like also I'm not maybe the best version of myself…but I don't think it has anything to do with the mental side of things”.
Heat's Nikola Jovic on if the offense is leading to his down season
There could be a ton of conversations about why Jovic has been struggling to find a consistent role this season, with one of the potential reasons being the new offensive identity that the Heat have been implementing. Though starting electric with a 14-7 start, the team has regressed to the middle, but Miami still averages 119.6 points per game (fifth in the NBA) and leads the league in pace with 104.87 possessions per 48 minutes.
For Jovic, he would say that his down season has “maybe” to do with the new offense, but leans more that it's not a byproduct of the system.
“I mean, it's a maybe, you really never know,” Jovic said. “The weird thing is, we talk about how better we look, but the reality is, we have the same record as last year, you know. And people thought we were looking really bad last year. So there's both sides. Maybe it's because of the offense, maybe it's because I'm not doing good enough right now. Me personally. I don't think it has anything to do with the offense, just the way I play, the way my minutes work…”
“I started at the start of the year, after the first game already, I was eight, nine, games off the bench,” Jovic continued. “So I got removed then, and then after five games I was out of the rotation. So it was a weird season, you know. And even now, I never know when I'm gonna go in, if I'm gonna play 5, 12, or 17 minutes…So at this point, I'm just trying to help this team win.”
Heat's Nikola Jovic speaks about his goals for the rest of the season
If there's one thing for certain, it's that the Heat want to get away from eighth seed purgatory and another trip to the play-in tournament, which has been the finish for the last three seasons. Jovic would echo the same sentiments, saying that his goals for the rest of the season are to help Miami win more games, with hopefully a result being he gets better.
“Help this team win as many games as possible,” Jovic said when asked what his mindset is in the remaining 26 games. “You know, it's been the same thing since I came here, you know, basically, if I played or I didn't play, well, it looks like we're always finishing in the play-in, you know. And it feels weird. So we're trying to get in the top six, where we don't have to be in the play-in.”
“And from there, I'm trying to figure stuff out. I'm really trying to help this team win and then get to the playoffs and then figure out how to win the playoffs. So, I don't look at my stats individually, or how I'm gonna look individually, as long as we win, I know I did my job,” Jovic continued.
As Jovic alluded to, Miami is in a familiar spot with the team having a 29-27 record and eighth in the Eastern Conference, but the start of a hopeful turnaround starts Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
