3 Essential areas of improvement for Nikola Jovic
By Wes Goldberg
Shot distribution
This isn’t necessarily Jovic’s fault, but more than twice as many of his 3-pointers came from above the break than from the corner.
Why does that matter? Because Jovic shot 36.8% from above the break (a good mark) versus 47% from the corner (an elite mark).
Here’s the breakout:
- Above the break 3s: 42 of 114 (36.8%)
- Corner 3s: 23 of 49 (46.9%)
Some of this is due to where Erik Spoelstra and the Heat position him on offense, but it would be wise to get him in the corner more. Not only would this help open up the offense with more 3-point shooting, it would also put Jovic in greater position to crash the boards for offensive rebounds.
Jovic should also be a more aggressive in looking for his own shot. Don’t get it twisted: He’s not and won’t be a top option. He’s still a player the offense runs to, not through. But he also ranked 14th among all who played for the Heat last season in field goal attempts per 36 minutes, behind Thomas Bryant and Josh Richardson. There’s room between Tyler Herro’s 18.8 FGA/36 and Jovic’s 11.3 FGA/36.