(Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford/Getty Images)
At long last, the Miami Heat are at full strength. They played their first 17 games without arguably their best offensive player, while there were also chunks of absence from both. Norman Powell and Bam Adebayo.
Miami still strung together a 13-6 record through the toughest part of its schedule — the sixth-hardest in the sport over that span. However, one problem it has run into is its rotation with a fully healthy Tyler Herro, Powell and Adebayo.
Similar to last year, the Heat have an influx of guards and wings. One player who’s currently out of Erik Spoelstra’s 10-man rotation is fourth-year wing Nikola Jovic, who recently spoke to reporters about his opportunity — or lack thereof.
“You don’t want to be out (of the rotation),” Jovic recently told reporters, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “It gets a little confusing. But now it’s really become a, I guess, normal thing. The good thing is I have examples like Duncan [Robinson] before, who would be a big piece and then not play at all and a lot of stuff like that.
“I think if I’m the 11th guy on the bench, I think we have a pretty good team.”
Nikola Jovic is currently odd man out of Heat’s rotation:
Jovic is currently fighting with multiple players in the rotation for playing time. Heat have depth. Dru Smith, Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Keshad Johnson have all played well, which has pushed the fourth-year forward out of the rotation.
It’s a good problem to have, but one Spoelstra must navigate.
Jovic has played in just 14 of the team’s 19 games. And he’s struggled. He’s averaging 8.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Though he’s shooting just 40.2 percent from the floor, 29.4 percent from 3-point range and 74.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Perhaps his biggest struggles have been taking advantage of defenders in space within this new fast-paced, free-flowing offense.
Over time, the rotation will figure itself out and Jovic will get another opportunity. The matter of fact is he just has to play better when that comes. He’s defended well, but he hasn’t been a net positive when he’s been on the court outside of his 29-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist performance against Portland earlier this month.
Now that the Heat is at full strength, Spoelstra must figure out which combinations work, and which don’t. Every game provides a different story.
And when Jovic is called upon, he must take advantage before his spot — and confidence — vanishes.
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