An unexpected thing happened in Miami, famous for its ‘hit culture’.
Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic expressed his dissatisfaction with his current situation in an interview with local media on the 26th (Korean time). "The situation is not good at the moment, it\'s worse than last year. I think I deserve to play, people think I\'m not ready and I agree with that, but the opportunities that come my way are great," Jovic said. “There is hardly any. But I will try my best.”
Jovic also said, "I\'m playing the center position in the G-League. I think I\'ve been good all summer, but I\'m not playing my position. Playing in a variety of positions can be an advantage, but for me, the center position is “It doesn’t fit,” he said, adding dissatisfaction with the position.
Jovic was selected by Miami with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Jovic is a Serbian player who played on the European stage rather than the American stage before moving to the NBA. Jovic\'s strengths at the time of the draft were that although he was a 208cm tall forward, he was good at making 3-point shots and had excellent athletic ability, which was unusual for a European player. In addition, the unique BQ of a European player and his brilliant passing sense were evaluated as Jovic\'s strengths. He said that compared to him, his defense had a long way to go.
This assessment was spot on. When Jovic played sparingly last season, he showed flashes of offense and upside on his 3-point shot. However, his defense\'s weaknesses were exposed as assessed. When Jovic appeared on the court, he became the target of the opposing team\'s intense attacks.
In the 2022-2023 season, Jovic averaged 13.6 minutes, 5.5 points, and 2.1 rebounds in 15 games. He had injuries, but he was actually not at his best. Jovic spent time adapting to the American stage by playing more G League games than NBA games.
And Jovic participated with the Serbian national team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. At the Basketball World Cup, Jovic led the Serbian national team to the finals with his outstanding performance. Jovic showed off his strengths on the international stage and looked like an NBA prospect. Jovic\'s appearance raised enough expectations even on the NBA stage.
However, Jovic\'s situation did not change in the 2023-2024 season. Jovic was not in Miami coach Erik Spoelstra\'s plans. Coach Spoelstra is a coach who values defense. Coach Spoelstra did not like Jovic\'s weak defense. Jovic still could not play in the game, and was sent back to the G League stage. He only played 17 minutes in a game against the Brooklyn Nets with Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love injured.
In the 2023-2024 season, Miami currently has 10 wins and 7 losses, but Jovic averaged 15 minutes, 4.7 points, and 7 rebounds in 3 games. This record is not significantly different from last season.
The majority of Miami fans are of the opinion that they understand Jovic\'s dissatisfaction. It is true that Jovic has deficiencies in defense, but he is not of such skill that he cannot play to this extent. The problem is that Miami has great forward line depth. The existing players Caleb Martin, Kevin Love, and Heywood Highsmith were joined by newcomer Jaime Haquez Jr. This is why Jovic’s playing time has no choice but to decrease.
From Jovic\'s point of view, you may think he came to a team that doesn\'t suit him. Unfortunately, if Jovic is not traded, there is no suitable solution in sight.