The Heat have several prominent roles available for the taking. Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, and Bam Adebayo all seem to have their starting spots locked up, and Davion Mitchell and Kel’el Ware made strong cases for themselves last season, but there are still plenty of minutes and responsibility upgrades to be won.
Nikola Jovic could get a head start on staking his claim during this summer’s EuroBasket competition, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Winderman writes that head coach Erik Spoelstra wants to see Jovic step into a leadership role as one of the Serbian team’s leading men.
Last season, Jovic saw his responsibilities dip as Ware came on strong. The Serbian forward started 10 games after starting 38 the season before, though he was still productive, averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 37.1% from three. A strong EuroBasket could help Jovic hit the ground running next season and carve out a key role with the Heat.
In a recent exhibition win against Slovenia, Jovic scored 18 points on 7-8 shooting with Spoelstra in attendance.
We have more from the Heat’s EuroBasket players:
- Speaking of Spoelstra, the Heat head coach has been on a European tour, checking in on his international players, Winderman writes in a separate article. Prior to watching Jovic help lead Serbia to a 34-point victory over Luka Doncic‘s Slovenian squad, Spoelstra dropped in on Pelle Larsson as Larsson and the Swedish squad battled Estonia.
- As for Larsson, this competition offers him a chance to spread his wings and show his complete skillset to the Heat, who already value the approach he takes to the game. “What he does are the things that we value,” Spoelstra said of Larsson, as relayed by Winderman. “He’s so tough. He makes winning plays. He’s a great role player. He fits around guys, the best players. And he will continue to get better, because he has a great work ethic.” Spoelstra has been interested in watching how the second-year player fares as a ball-handler, but declined to put Larsson in a box as far as role, valuing the versatile ways the 6’5″ wing can impact the game. Winderman adds that his comments seemed to indicate that Larsson had already won himself a role in the rotation for this coming season.
- EuroBasket is also a chance for new addition Simone Fontecchio to bounce back and prove what he provides after a disappointing season with the Pistons following a strong 2023/24 season. With the long-tenured Duncan Robinson heading to the Pistons this offseason, Winderman notes that there’s hope that Fontecchio can get back to the 40% three-point shooter he was two years ago in an effort to replace some of what they lost.