The Heat’s main player to keep an eye on in the second half is Nikola Jovic. Bam Adebayo needs Jovic, an athletic big man, beside him. Jovic possesses the talent set and capacity to carry out every role needed in the Miami Heat attack. He can be described as a “Kelly Olynyk supercharged.” Throughout the season, Jovic has received “bite-sized” chunks of playing time from Coach Spolestra. Jovic went so far as to say, “It’s crazy, either I start or I don’t play.” See this Sun-Sentinel piece about Jovic’s season here.
As a free agent, Thomas Bryant was signed on to play center alongside Bam Adebayo. Regretfully, he hasn’t improved his mid-range game and hasn’t been aware of the court. He now faces a three-game suspension following the altercation in New Orleans. Because of this, he is now even less developed, giving Jovic greater opportunities to start. Jovic’s jump shot has the ability to break defenders’ “packing the paint” strategy against Jimmy Butler. It is in the second half when he will sneak up on teams. View my piece about the Heat’s prospects for the second half here.
Jimmy Butler has faith in Jovic and Jaquez Jr. Check out this piece by Shandel Richardson about Butler sharing a photo of him and Jovic during a Heat watch party on Instagram. Jimmy Butler trusts these guys, and they put in a lot of effort both in practice and during games.
The Heat did a great job selecting Jovic (and Jaquez) in the draft. Check out this article from Sun-Sentinel.com to learn how the league values Jovic and Jaquez. Jimmy Butler is a shrewd player to hang around with these two, ensuring that they both contribute significantly by the conclusion of the season.
Visit the Inside the Heat fan page on SI.com to read this article. With 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists against the Bucks, Jovic had the finest game of his career. He made five of eight free throws. The Heat won’t play players out of position, such as Haywood Highsmith at power forward, the more Jovic contributes. Check out this scouting report from Peachtree Hoops from 2022 on Jovic.
Despite his tendency to incur defensive fouls, Jovic’s 7′ wingspan enables him to close out on shooters. Although he tries too hard to go one-on-one for the basket, he is a good offensive transition player. In terms of skill set and role, I believe Jovic will play a similar role to Kelly Olynyk for the Heat offense. See how Olynyk will benefit the Raptors offense—floor spacing and opening up lanes for drives—in this SI.com piece. Jovic for the Heat will follow suit.
