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As the Miami Heat prepare for a Monday afternoon game against the Utah Jazz, they are still coming off of a solid performance where they beat the Golden State Warriors Thursday, 114-102. With a ton of players key to the Heat's rotation out, there was young players that stepped up, especially the talented Nikola Jovic.
Having been in and out of the Heat's roster as he has major playing time with their G-League affiliate in the Sioux Falls Skyforce, he had to make an impact against the Warriors with the lineups thin due to injuries. Fans have been waiting to see the talent come out of Jovic and he had his best game scoring 11 points, collecting three rebounds, and recording three assists on 20 minutes of playing time.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talked about Jovic's impact after the win to the Warriors and said he does not always expect young players to show out right from the beginning like Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami's rookie sensation. Sometimes, it takes development and Spoelstra said he has seen that from Jovic according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“We live in a microwave society right now, and particularly in pro sports,” Spoelstra said. “He’s 20 years old, and his head coach has seen progress. If he’s not playing, that does not mean he is not making progress or that we’ve given up on him.”
What led to the solid performance from Jovic
The aforementioned Skyforce had a tough loss against the Toronto Raptors G-League affiliate team last week, even when they were starting Jovic, but also R.J. Hampton and Jamal Cain. They were all ashamed of the performance and learned from it as all three players made a positive impact against Golden State.
“We’re developing him, and some of these moments in the G League I think are really important. Sometimes it’s important when you lose and then you get angry about it and you figure out how you can impact winning the next time,” Spoelstra said. “So he’s had great moments in the G League and he’s also had tough moments, and I think all of that is part of player development.”
Jovic has only made five appearances this season with the Heat and he will continue to get playing time if the injuries continue to be a problem. His performance was so impressive that Spoelstra has put Jovic in the starting lineup against Utah as it was announced by the team on their X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
Another different starting lineup for Miami as NIKOLA JOVIC is in.
Butler also in coming back from calf strain, Hampton still in from last game. Herro and Adebayo round it out.
A very interesting starting lineup here vs. Jazz in 30 minutes. #HeatCulture https://t.co/GvGDQfQEwM
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 30, 2023
Jovic still a raw talent
While he is a raw talent, Jovic can develop into the type of player that the Heat needs while also playing to his strengths. Spoelstra said after the win to the Warriors that the 20-year old is “preparing” for the moment he can make a difference for Miami.
“He’s been preparing and all of these experiences have been really good for him,” Spoelstra said. “And then we needed him in that second quarter and also in the fourth quarter, he was prepared to give us good minutes.”
What was very important for Jovic was that he feels like he has the trust from Spoelstra, even though it has been a tumltous season for the Serbian.
“The opportunity came,” Jovic said. “I feel like Coach believed in me and my team’s ability to make that fit.”
The Heat are 19-12 before the game against the Jazz which puts them at fourth in the Eastern Conference. Saturday's game against Utah is Miami's final game of 2023 as they head into a New Year starting with games against the duo of Los Angeles teams in the Clippers and Lakers.
