By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jovic continues to earn more chances with the Miami Heat, demonstrating his ability to contribute. In his latest outing, the Serbian forward had a game reminiscent of Nikola Jokic, recording six points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, along with two blocks and steals in 21 minutes, as his team prevailed over the Houston Rockets.
This made him one of the main topics at the postgame press conference, with Tyler Herro expressing his excitement for the talented Serbian.
“I’m starting the Nikola Jovic fan club led by Tyler Herro. I love the way he plays. He’s so skilled, and he’s really, really good, so I’m excited for him to get out there and continue to build on the minutes and the opportunities,” Herro said.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra believes Jovic performs exceptionally well when sharing the court with Bam Adebayo.
“What he needed more than anything is continuous development and playing time, whether here or at Sioux Falls. He needs the live reps. His improvement has been happening quicker; he has positional size, and he’s very dynamic when you play him with Bam. He’ll continue to improve; it’s not going to be linear, but the playing time that he’s gotten in the last several games is really important,” Spoelstra added.
Miami Heat center Adebayo notes that Jovic’s hard work is paying off.
“He works hard every day. There’s not a moment that goes by where if I’m in the gym, I don’t see him. He’s doing the little things, watching film, trying to understand the game, doing pre-practice, practice… Those days add up for games like this. He had six points, but that shows that the end of the box score doesn’t matter a whole lot when it comes to the impact on winning,” Adebayo said about the Serbian national team player.”