Nikola Jovic vs Hawks
At this point, Nikola Jovic started multiple games and was a constant in the starting lineup despite all the injuries and lineup changes Miami had throughout the season. Jovic flashed his potential as the season progressed and started to gain more confidence in each game. In a thrilling 117-111 double-overtime victory against the Atlanta Hawks, Jovic had his best game of the season, recording 23 points, 8 rebounds and five triples.
What made this performance stand out was Jovic holding his own on the defensive end. With Erik Spoelstra feeling more comfortable with Jovic switching onto guards, Jovic found himself defending Dejounte Murray on multiple possessions with the results being positive.
A lot of talk about Jovic on offense last night but Hawks were putting him in actions to get Dejounte on him & he held his own
— John Jablonka (@JohnJablonka_) April 10, 2024
I don't think Dejounte scored at all on any possesions
Him being serviceable on switches is big for different lineups they run pic.twitter.com/bfMART5yT8
Jovic began to grow as a catch and shoot threat and displayed that against Atlanta, but Jovic also had some tough finishes when the Hawks decided to close out hard on the perimeter.
To top off Jovic's best performance, when the Heat were on the verge of letting this game slip away, Jovic hit a clutch three to cut the Hawks lead to one and shortly followed that up with a key assist to Haywood Highsmith to even the game at 107.
HAYWOOD WITH ICE IN HIS VEINS 🥶 pic.twitter.com/Ok8r7hyBVs
— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) April 10, 2024
There have been lingering questions in the basketball sphere if the Heat can find a true front court partner to pair with Bam Adebayo for multiple years. But with Jovic showing his improvement and putting together these type of games, Miami might have found the one position they've been looking to fill for years.