A recurring trend the Heat’s Nikola Jovic is working to erase

MIAMI – Like The Miami Heat get a huge boost with Tyler Herr returning to practice after missing the last 15 games, another player on the team chasing consistency is Nikola Jovic. Doc Jovic’s fourth Heat season was an extended slumpThe 22-year-old spoke candidly about his year and what he wants to tackle.

With 26 games left in the season, Joviv is looking to help Miami win games any way possible, though his minutes have been up and down, averaging 17.9 minutes, his fewest since his rookie season. There’s no doubt it’s been a tough season for Jovic, who has gotten used to the team’s new fast-paced offense as he’s averaging 7.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 37 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from deep.

A “repetitive” area Heat’s Nikola Jovic wants to get rid of

Jovic spoke to ClutchPoints in a one-on-one interview after Thursday’s practice and stressed that there has been a trend of “repetition” this season with his inconsistent appearances and conversations with the head coach. Erik Spoelstra.

When it comes to his performances, he states how he will play well for a few games, then regress, lose playing time, and then find himself out of the rotation. In his desire to erase that trend, Jović is sure that he is not hindered by a mental problem.

“Spo (Spoelstra) has called me a few times in his office. And it’s usually the same thing, he’s always asking me, how can he help me? . . . But at this point, it’s usually the same; I’ll play well for a few games, and my minutes will go down, and then I’ll be out of the rotation. I’ll be back, I’m looking good again. And it’s kind of a point when I’m repeating myself, when I’m repeating myself, trying to understand what to do.”

“But it’s not easy, but like I said, it’s not a confidence thing. I really believe in myself. I know how good I am. It’s just a weird season, the way we’re playing, the way the team is working. You know, it’s just weird. But Spo is really trying to help me and I’m really trying to help the team. It’s a repeat situation. It’s going… So yeah, we’re still trying to figure things out.”

The Heat’s Nikola Jovic on a much-needed All-Star break

With The Heat are looking to turn their season aroundJovic wants to do the same individually, as he has shown plenty of flashes throughout his young career to help the team in countless ways. The team feels the same way, as the 2022 first-round pick was rewarded with a four-year, $62.4 million contract extension back in October.

With the ability to be a point forward, giving Miami positional versatility, he looks to return to provide key minutes off the bench or when in the starting lineup. There’s no doubt that the reset was necessary for Jovic, as the All-Star break comes at the perfect time, telling ClutchPoints that it helped give the body a break physically, but also take some time away from basketball.

“After the difficult Eurobasket I had, I came right here and tried to look as good as possible. So I didn’t stop training. So this break really helped my minor injuries that I had, somehow they calmed down,” said Jović. “Mentally, it was good. I was with a few of my friends. Mentally it was good for me, just not thinking about basketball a lot, but at the same time I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to make sure I looked better when I got back.”

Jovic would talk about the importance of taking good care of the mental side and it is important for every basketball player, but he would double down on how it was not an obstacle this season.

“I’m happy every morning when I wake up, I’m happy every time I go to sleep. And I think that’s something that’s very important,” Jovic said. “Basketball is something I know I’m good at. And even though maybe some people think I’m not doing my best this year … I feel like maybe I’m not the best version of myself … but I don’t think it has anything to do with the mental side of things.”

On the Heat, Nikola Jović if the attack leads to the fall of the season

There could be a lot of talk about why Jovic has struggled to find a consistent role this season, and one potential reason is the new offensive identity the Heat have implemented. Although off to an electric 14-7 start, the team has regressed down the middle, but Miami is still averaging 119.6 points per game (fifth in the NBA) and leads the league in pace with 104.87 possessions in 48 minutes.

For Jović, he would say that his flat-rate season “maybe” has something to do with the new attack, but he relies more on the fact that it is not a byproduct of the system.

I mean, it might be, you never really know,” Jovic said. “The strange thing is that we talk about how we look better, but the reality is that we have the same record as last year, you know. And people thought we looked really bad last year. So there are both sides. Maybe it’s because of the attack, maybe it’s because I’m not doing well enough right now. Me personally. I don’t think it has anything to do with my offense, just the way I play…”

“I started at the beginning of the year, already after the first game, I had eight, nine games off the bench,” continued Jović. “Then they cut me, and then after five games I was out of the rotation. So it’s been a weird season, you know. And even now, I never know when I’m going to come in, if I’m going to play 5, 12 or 17 minutes. . . . So right now, I’m just trying to help this team win.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic talks about his goals in the rest of the season

If one thing is certain, it’s that The heat wants to escape the eighth seed purgatory and another trip to the play-in tournament, which has been the finale of the last three seasons. Jovic would echo the same sentiments, saying his goals for the rest of the season are to help Miami win more games, with the hope that the result will be better.

“Help this team win as many games as possible,” Jovic said when asked how he was thinking about the remaining 26 games. “You know, it’s been the same thing since I got here, you know, basically, whether I played or didn’t play, well, we always seem to end up in the playoffs, you know. And I feel weird. So we’re trying to get into the top six, where we don’t have to be in the playoffs.”

“And from there I’m trying to figure things out. I’m really trying to help this team win and then get to the playoffs and then figure out how to win in the playoffs. So, I’m not looking at my stats individually, or how I’m going to look individually, as long as we’re winning, I know I’ve done my job,” Jovic continued.

As Jovic alluded to, Miami is in a good place with a team that is 29-27 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, but the start of a hopefully turnaround begins Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.