Nikola Jovic has had a season to forget, and he may have just made it worse. In trying to justify some of his struggles this year, he may have dug an even deeper hole for himself with Miami Heat fans after his comments came across as blaming Erik Spoelstra's new offensive system.
“Last year was easy because of the offense we ran and the way we played, I kind of knew what my role was. This year, with an offense where you don’t have calls and don’t really know where to be at what time, it’s hard for me because sometimes I play five [center], sometimes I play [four], sometimes I have the ball in my hands, sometimes I don’t."
"It’s hard because you never get similar looks. Last year, we ran a lot of plays and I kind of knew what looks I would get, so I could easily get more into my rhythm.”
I can't imagine that Jovic wasn't openly trying to blame the new offensive system for his struggles directly, and more so, speaking to how hard it's been, especially for him specifically, to get up to speed, but it did come off pretty bad.
Heat fans are going to hammer Nikola Jovic's comments
In the wrong light, these comments are going to make it seem as if Jovic is making excuses for his struggles this season and is not necessarily taking responsibility for them.
That's unlikely what Jovic was doing here. In an honest moment, in peeling back the curtain a bit, he was caught out of context. And the optics are not going to be great.
But no matter how anyone digests these comments, the bottom line is that Jovic has not acclimated himself well to this new system. And, perhaps to Jovic's point, there is some blame on both sides.
After all, it is Spo's job to try to put Jovic in a position to succeed. That just hasn't happened much at all this season. Especially with how bad a season this has been for Jovic, there's more than enough blame to fall on both sides.
Nikola Jovic has hit a developmental wall
In 47 games played this season, Jovic has averaged fewer points, rebounds, and assists than in any of the previous two years. He's also averaging a career low in field goal percentage and posting the second-worst 3-point percentage season of his career.
To make all this worse is the fact that the Heat prematurely gave Jovic a four-year contract extension in hopes of getting in on the ground floor of what they believed would be a breakout player. A few months after that extension, and it already looks like one of the worst decisions in recent Heat history.
Admittedly, that's probably a bit hyperbolic, especially after just one season, but that just hammers home just how much Jovic has struggled in his role this season for the Heat.
Heat fans won't like these recent comments from Jovic, but it's not going to change the fact that he needs to play better. At this point, the Heat and Jovic are stuck with each other. And it's in the best interest to stop pointing fingers and to try to figure it all out.
But, make no mistake, there's no question that these comments are going to do much more harm than good for Jovic, especially when it comes to his standing favor with Heat fans.