Don’t look now, but the Miami Heat have quietly become a team built through the NBA draft.
Pluck Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Kevin Love off this roster and the next seven or eight rotation players will all have been drafted or developed by the Heat. That means the Heat’s future will be determined by the growth of these young players.
Among those players is Nikola Jovic.
Over the next few days, we’ll analyze how some of those young players can take the next step in their development. Beyond trying to return to contention in the upcoming season, this will be a major theme when the Heat arrive in the Bahamas for training camp next month.
Jovic might have the most intriguing skillset of any of Miami’s young players. At 6-foot-10, Jovic has the combination of size, ball skills and shooting ability that make him the ideal forward in the modern NBA.
After barely playing as a rookie, Jovic emerged as Miami’s starting power forward last season. If he can sharpen the finer points of the game, perhaps another leap is in store.
Physicality
Nikola Jovic has gotten noticeably stronger since the Heat drafted him in 2022, but his filled-out frame hasn’t resulted in consistently more physical play.
Yes, he ranked third on the Heat last season in defensive rebounding rate (21.3%) but he was 11th in offensive rebounding rate (3.1%). Some of that is a function of Miami’s scheme – opting to get back on defense rather than crash the boards. But you’d think it would still be higher for a 6-foot-10 power forward with a 7-foot wingspan.
He averaged 0.3 box-outs per game, miles behind Bam Adebayo’s 3.1 mark and closer to wings like Josh Richardson (0.2) and Duncan Robinson (0.4).
Jovic also averaged about as many screen assists (0.6) as Patty Mills (0.7) and contested fewer 2-point shots than Jaime Jaquez Jr.
For Jovic to take a step toward being a 20-plus minute starter, he’ll need to get more physical. Rebounding, contesting shots at the basket and setting strong screens should be a focus of his in training camp early next month.