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The Heat\u2019s pace-pushing style this season has been a boon to the team\u2019s 2023 first-round draft choice, but not so much for the 2022 first-rounder.<\/p>\n
While Jaime Jaquez Jr. has thrived in a style that has lifted the Heat to second in the league in scoring with a week remaining in the season, Nikola Jovic said he has struggled to adjust to that system, and cites that as one reason for his dramatic regression.<\/p>\n
Jovic\u2019s 13-minute cameo in the second half of Saturday\u2019s 152-136 win against Washington, which ended when he limped off with a sprained ankle, was just his second game in the Heat\u2019s past 10, the other appearance lasting only 3:42 against Houston. \u201cNothing is broken,\u201d Erik Spoelstra said after the ankle was scanned. \u201cBut it is a sprain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before that, he missed 11 games with a back ailment, yet another setback in a season that has gone nothing like he expected.<\/p>\n
Jovic, 22, was jubilant after signing a four-year, $62 million extension on Oct. 1, then started the opener against Orlando, shooting 2 for 6 in an unremarkable 23 minutes.<\/p>\n
He never started again this season, and his game deteriorated in virtually every area. His scoring dropped from 10.7 last season to 7.3 this season. His shooting dipped from 45.6 to 36.6 percent.<\/p>\n
His three-point shooting plunged from 37.1 to 26.9 percent, the worst in the league for any player with as many attempts (he\u2019s 45 for 167).<\/p>\n
His assists sank from 2.8 to 2.2 per game, while his turnovers rose from 1.3 to 1.4.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, his minutes per game plummeted from 25.1 in in 46 appearances (10 starts) last season to 17.2 in 47 games this season.<\/p>\n
After practice on Friday, when he was the last one to leave the court, Jovic explains the regression this way:<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was easy because of the offense we ran and the way we played, I kind of knew what my role was,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year, with an offense where you don\u2019t have calls and don\u2019t really know where to be at what time, it\u2019s hard for me because sometimes I play five [center], sometimes I play [four], sometimes I have the ball in my hands, sometimes I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard because you never get similar looks. Last year, we ran a lot of plays and I kind of knew what looks I would get, so I could easily get more into my rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Jaquez has elevated his game playing that fast and spontaneous style, Jovic said it has left him somewhat confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, you\u2019ll be out [there] and you don\u2019t really know which way the game is going to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he made clear that it\u2019s his job to adapt to the Heat\u2019s new style and he takes responsibility for not doing that well enough. \u201cIt is on me, of course,\u201d he said. \u201cNext [season] and this year, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of Spoelstra\u2019s move to a faster tempo this season, he said: \u201cWe\u2019re trying a lot of stuff. Last four years, we\u2019re basically the same team, with the same record, and I guess they\u2019ve tried different things. Some stuff suits you better, some stuff doesn\u2019t. I have to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the enormous dip in three-point shooting, he said there\u2019s nothing wrong with his mechanics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m a better shooter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a question. I\u2019ve been shooting higher percentages since I came into the league. [Forty percent] two years ago, 37 last year. I\u2019m sure I can get back to that. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he again mentions how last year\u2019s offensive approach created better shots for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, I kind of knew what shots I\u2019m going to get – if it\u2019s from Tyler [Herro] in pick and roll or Bam [Adebayo] from a post up. This year, it\u2019s drive and kick and you\u2019re not sure what position it\u2019s going to be or if it\u2019s going to kick out to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
What needs to change on his three-point shooting?<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t force it,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of times, I would not be sure if I\u2019m going in the game. And when I get a chance, I would always think it\u2019s going to be just a few minutes. So in a few minutes, I\u2019m just trying to show something and I guess I\u2019m doing it the wrong way and forcing some shots. With the amount of minutes I play, it\u2019s hard not to think about shooting the ball more because you want to show what you can do more and you take bad shots.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the eve of the season opener, Jovic confided that he had a feeling he would be the player whose minutes would be most affected if the team struggled. And like clockwork, he was removed from the starting lineup after the opening loss to Orlando.<\/p>\n
But Spoelstra has given him several chances to earn minutes since, and he has squandered most of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to be on the court but at this moment this team thinks they have a better chance without me,\u201d Jovic said. \u201cI\u2019ve just got to support the team and support the decision. It\u2019s hard for them too because it\u2019s the end of the season and I haven\u2019t played for a while so it\u2019s hard for them to try something new now. It is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Heat and Jovic must figure out a way to make it work, because he\u2019s under contract longer than any other Heat player, set to earn $16.2 million next season, followed by annual incomes of $14.9 million, $15.1 million and $16.2 million in 2029-30.<\/p>\n
Next season\u2019s salary not only represents a big jump from his $4.4 million this season, but also consumes 10 percent of the Heat\u2019s 2026-27 salary cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to work my way back hopefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Standings update<\/p>\n
The Heat (41-37) entered Sunday 10th in the East, one half game behind No. 9 Orlando (which owns the tiebreaker against Miami), one game behind No. 8 Charlotte (which loses the tiebreaker to Miami) and two games behind No. 7 Philadelphia (which loses the tiebreaker to Miami). The Hornets (at Minnesota) and Magic (at New Orleans) were set to play Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Miami next plays on Tuesday night, the first of two consecutive games, over three days, in Toronto. Miami then plays at Washington on Friday before ending the regular season next Sunday at home against Atlanta.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published April 5, 2026 at 9:52 AM.<\/p>\n