As the Miami Heat look to head into the season, they have already answered many of the questions that sat before them. With the power forward situation seemingly sorted out and the quandary about Tyler Herro’s status with the team and in the rotation settled, the Miami Heat will start from a good enough place next Wednesday as they tip off their year.
With Herro in the starting lineup though, that’ll leave a big hole in their bench production, as he has been a key factor there over the last several years. However, they will have Victor Oladipo, Max Strus, and Duncan Robinson, who has shown a bit of a resurgence in the preseason, all coming off the bench.
There is also another guy starting the season on that Miami Heat bench though who should be able to help ignite some potency for the lineup. With the operative words being “starting the season” on the bench, Nikola Jovic could find himself playing with starters more sooner than later.
This isn’t to say he’ll catapult into the starting lineup in his rookie season by the All-Star break or at all this season, but he certainly could.
The Miami Heat have a ton of firepower throughout the rotation. And rookie forward, Nikola Jovic, could add an extra dramatic flare and boost to all of that.
In fact, some of the Miami Heat’s regular starters and top guys see something of the nature in the rookie.
Bam Adebayo lit up when I asked him about Nikola Jovic:
— alex toledo (@tropicalblanket) October 13, 2022
“Throwing him in the first unit, he looked like he was comfortable with us. He knew exactly where to go, you know, figuring out in the flow, keeping the spacing. He's not running around mindless and, kid can hoop."@5OTF_ pic.twitter.com/cbE67RdxNq
And Jimmy Butler would have high marks for him as well. Here is what he had to say about Jovic, no matter who he is playing alongside in this quote from Five Reasons Sports.
"He’s smart for, you know, not graduating high school yet. He plays basketball the right way.He can shoot it, he can put the ball on the floor, and he can really pass it. I think that the more that he plays, the more comfortable he’s going to be out there.Whether it be with the starters. Whether it be with some of the role players. I think that the more reps he gets, in-game, against so many different types of competition, the better he’s going to become.So, he’s been doing well thus far."
No matter which way you look at it, the Miami Heat like the young guy and that goes from the players to the coaches to the front office that obviously drafted him. And with what he’s shown thus far, the Miami Heat may just have a freak of their own on their hands.
One that may, indeed, be too undeniable to keep on the pine.