Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic showed signs of growth in his second NBA season, and now, he’s looking to take another step in the right direction in his third year.
The 21-year-old has a goal in mind as he continues to develop: punishing mismatches.
“I would say the biggest thing I was working on the most was when I’m working in the low post, when I have a smaller guy on me, I just have to punish them,” Jovic said. “That’s something I think will help our team a lot. So I would say that’s the main thing for me, other than still being able to spread the floor and everything I already did.”
The former first-round pick continued to speak the importance of this part of his game.
“Being able to punish every mismatch I think is a really important part of that game for me, and that’s what I’ll keep working on and try to do as much as I can,” he said.
The Heat leaned on Jovic heavily at times last season. Although he only appeared in 46 games in the regular season, 38 of those appearances were starts. Moreover, in the playoffs, he started in every game for Miami.
He finished the regular season with averages of 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent shooting from deep.
It’s worth noting that his averages took a bit of a hit due to a few low-minute appearances. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Additionally, he played well in the playoffs, averaging 9.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while knocking down 44.4 percent of his shots and 40.9 percent of his 3s.
Internal growth is going to have to be an important theme for the Heat this season if they want to get back into the championship conversation, and Jovic is as good of a candidate as anyone to take a leap. A first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, he hasn’t had nearly enough time yet to unlock his full potential.
The Heat are certainly hoping that the 2024-25 season will lead to another one of their magical playoff runs. As recently as 2023, they stunned the NBA world by making the NBA Finals, and although they took a disappointing playoff exit last season, they can’t be counted out going into the new campaign.
Miami will open its season on Oct. 23 against the Orlando Magic, which will give Jovic a chance to quickly open some eyes in his third season and show that he can’t be taken lightly.
