The Miami Heat have a few things to address as they head into the NBA preseason. With their first real taste of action set for Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in preseason game number one, they will play their annual Red, White, And Pink Game on Monday.
With all of that though, they’ll begin to nail out their rotations and timeshares at each of the positions on the floor. And while there are sure to be quite a few guys in line at each position, it’s not so certain, at this point, who those guys will be.
In some circumstances, it’s hard to even project where some guys may even slot into the whole concoction at all right now. And that is the case for the guy in question here today, Nikola Jovic.
That leads to his biggest question heading into his rookie season.
The Miami Heat don’t have a surefire option at power forward yet, however, they have options and variety. Can rookie, Nikola Jovic, be among that number?
Biggest Question For Nikola Jovic: Can He Find A Way To Get On The Court In His Rookie Year?
The Miami Heat’s rookie was banged up a bit in the NBA Summer League, preventing him from playing as much as he could have, however, you are eager to see what he can do after seeing what he was able to do in his short stint. Well, that and after having more time to get acclimated and work on some other things as guided by the Miami Heat staff.
With that though, those opportunities may not be as large or come as fast as he might like them to. The Miami Heat are about contending, for which his development thus far may not best be suited at the moment.
He could be a quick study, which you hope he is, but that’s a possibility.
Then there is the way that he approaches the game.
A near 7-footer with guard abilities and a wing’s game, Jovic may can find ways to contribute before he fully figures out who he is in the NBA. While he may, one day, do and be all he was prior to making the NBA, perhaps, leaning more towards getting on the floor as a stretch four is the way to go about breaking into the rotation early on this season if it’s possible for him.
That would then allow the rest of his game to continue to develop at this level and flourish when it’s ready, all along the way and inevitably throughout the process. Well, then there’s the option where he’s a stud out of the gate and everything that he’s been doing all of his life on the basketball court immediately shows signs of translation in his rookie year.
That is and should be the hope, of course. With “hope” being the operative word there though, you have to leave room for some realism among all the optimistic thoughts.
And all of that is why Nikola Jovic’s biggest question heading into the 2022-23 season surrounds how much court time he’ll actually see.