Miami Heat: Erik Spoelstra praises Nikola Jovic’s ability to adapt quickly
The Miami Heat may have landed another really good-to-great one in this past NBA draft. Not one to really focus on the NBA Draft, Pat Riley and the rest of the crew have traditionally been pretty good when it comes to making the selections they do choose to keep.
One could always go to Justise Winslow, who could have been more for the Miami Heat outside of some nefariously ominous issues that led to the downfall of that scenario, also taking him just two selections prior to Phoenix taking Devin Booker.
One could also point to Precious Achiuwa, but he didn’t spend long enough in the organization to really get a read and besides, he helped the Heat acquire Kyle Lowry. Even with them though, they were the 10th and 20th selections, nothing that awfully high in the lottery.
And when you look at guys they have hit on, early, late in either the first or second round, or undrafted even, it works out to be a great job based on the value they get. Looking at Bam Adebayo at 14 and Tyler Herro at 13, that certainly balances things out.
The Miami Heat may have struck with their latest NBA Draft pick. And Nikola Jovic not only has the physical prowess but, apparently, the mind to be great.
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And the next guy in that line of late first-rounders that may become a primetime player for the Miami Heat is Nikola Jovic, the Serbian forward they drafted at 27 in this past NBA Draft. Showing some good stuff in the preseason on the court, his head coach also had good things to say about him off the court too.
Speaking about his habits and mentality as a player already and watching him play a ton of center minutes throughout the preseason, here is what Coach Spo had to say. It comes from Couper Moorhead of the Miami Heat.
"“Right now it’s about working on our base coverages,” Spoelstra said. “Eventually I think he could be a guy that could switch. That’s the easy route right now. He’s knows we’re trying to develop some habits and develop some technicality and some detail with our defense. He’s a quick learner. He picks up things faster than I probably anticipated for a kid his age. He’s diligent, he works at it in pre-practice, after practice, watches film, he takes accountability for his mistakes. He doesn’t often make the same mistake twice in a row. But I think that’s some of the intel we got from our scouts that he’s a smart player.”"
Complimenting the rookie’s ability to adapt and pick things up quickly, credits like these could see his role expand more sooner than later. And with what he’s shown thus far during his short stint as a pro in the NBA, that probably should be the case.
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With the season getting underway Wednesday, things will officially shift into high gear. And you can only hope the Miami Heat’s Seven Foot Ferrari is allowed to get on the track as early and often as possible.