Between the absence of All-Star guard Tyler Herro's absence and the Miami Heat's general lack of playmakers, it might be fair to wonder whether Nikola Jovic's new starting role may have been borne out of necessity. While the Heat are clearly fans of the young forward, head coach Erik Spoelstra still may have felt this was a move he had to make to give his group a shot at offensive competency.
At least, that's how the promotion may have appeared to those on the outside. As Spoelstra clarified ahead of Jovic's second consecutive start, though, this decision "has nothing to do with Tyler being out" and instead simply reflected the fact that "Niko has played well."
While Spo added that this lineup is far from set in stone, it still feels notable that it's Jovic and not Kel'el Ware occupying the starting frontcourt slot alongside Bam Adebayo. Ware might be more universally recognized as Miami's best young building block, but Jovic might have a blindingly bright future of his own—and perhaps a skill set more conducive to the kind of offensive approach the Heat plan to take this season.
Jovic has a chance to cement himself as one of this organization's true centerpiece talents.
Considering Jovic's hype train was filling up even ahead of this promotion, perhaps his handling of this featured role in the preseason will send it into overdrive.
His ability to handle, create, and shoot as a 6'10" power forward is true jump-off-the-screen stuff and the kind of thing that feels so critical to giving Miami an offensive pulse. While his three-ball hasn't come alive just yet this preseason (2-of-7), just about everything else is working.
He has 19 points on 13 field-goal attempts. He has a team-high nine assists and zero turnovers in nearly 36 minutes. His plus-11 plus/minus is another Heat-leading mark. And he's tied for third on the club with 11 rebounds.
If he keeps this across-the-board activity up and shoots the way he's capable, he'll be doing everything the Heat wants him to do. Moreover, he'll probably be strengthening his hold on this starting spot, since those same traits were responsible for getting him this early promotion.
Granted, he'll have to prove he can hold up defensively to keep this gig, and either he or Bam Adebayo (probably both) has to get even more active on the glass for this to work. Most critically, Jovic also has to show he can be more consistently available, as he made just 107 appearances across his first three NBA seasons.
Still, there are reasons to believe this can work, especially if Jovic can duck the injury bug. If nothing else, his opportunities should be plentiful, since his specific skill set arguably serves as the Heat's biggest hope for getting their offense on track.
So far, everything is off to a promising start, both in terms of his chances and the way he has taken advantage of them. And, no, despite what logic may have led you to believe, this is not a by-default happenstance, but rather something Jovic earned with his play—and hopefully continues to earn going forward.