“ I became a better player at every level. ” Early December, in an interview for FIBANikola Jovic gave a good overview of his level of confidence, boosted by his World Cup with Serbia.
Unfortunately for him, it is not paying off in the NBA for the moment. His Heat team has just announced that he will, along with RJ Hamptonfind the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the G-League team.
The strong forward is sent there for the second time this season. He made a first visit there three weeks ago, finishing with around 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, in three games. At the time, the Serb, who had already gone through this box during his rookie season, had explained simply wanting to play, while Erik Spoelstra has not given him minutes since the start of the season.
Silencing the noises
On two occasions, the 20-year-old benefited from playing time of more than 15 minutes, including one 21-minute outing for the Wolves (8 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists), two others of less than 10 minutes. And that's all.
“ We are very encouraged by its progress, but we must silence all the external noise, while everyone would like its impact to come out of a particle accelerator. We just want to stay disciplined and stick to the plan. He is improving and he is ready to play minutes if called upon », Judges his coach, who so far prefers to rely on Haywood Highsmith or Kevin Love.
One of the difficulties in his case is that he prefers to play at position 4, rather than as a pivot. However, his coach recently stated that he would like to see him play in both positions. “ I know where he can feel more comfortable now, I understand him and we develop that, but I also want him to learn to develop where he is not as comfortable », demanded the technician, reminding us that it is a learning process.
| Nikola Jovic | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 15 | 14 | 40.6 | 22.9 | 94.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.5 |
| 2023-24 | MIA | 4 | 12 | 33.3 | 42.9 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| Total | 19 | 13 | 39.5 | 26.2 | 91.3 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 5.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
