Miami Heat rookie Nikola Jovic explained why he wouldn’t mind a move to the G League at this point in the 2022-23 season.
“I think whatever happens will be good,” Jovic said to the Miami Herald. “The G League would be awesome because I’ll be playing more. Get some playing time and get in game shape and stuff, it would be pretty cool.”
Jovic, the No. 27 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has appeared in just three games for the Heat so far in the 2022-23 campaign. He is averaging just 7.3 minutes per game while putting up 2.0 points per match on 42.9 percent shooting from the field.
The rookie did not play in either of the team’s last two games.
The Heat are a veteran team with a pretty solidified rotation after returning most of their roster from last season, when the team made the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even though Jovic was a first-round pick, it’s been hard for him to crack the rotation early on this season. As a young player, Jovic clearly wants a chance to continue to improve, and the G League may be the best spot for him to do that at this point in the season.
Jovic, 19, showed his immense talent in the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup. He averaged 18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks per game during the event.
As far as the level of play goes, there’s a big gap from that tournament to the NBA, but Jovic definitely has the talent to eventually be a contributor for the Heat. However, even with Victor Oladipo (knee) out of the lineup, Jovic still hasn’t gotten valuable minutes this season.
There would be no harm in giving Jovic a chance to make an impact in the G League, especially since he would get a chance to work on fine-tuning his game. Rather than wasting the youngster’s time on the bench, Miami would get a better look at how he can eventually fit in with the team.
The Heat have started the 2022-23 season with a 4-5 record. It’s not exactly how they would have liked things to go, but there is still plenty of time for Miami to push for a top seed in the East.
It will be interesting to see if Jovic gets a chance to contribute in the NBA more as the season progresses.
