The Miami Heat has been one of the best NBA franchises over the last five years. But for the third straight season, the Heat are off to a slow start. According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Heat need a pair of their youngsters to increase their production in order to turn things around.
Since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, Miami has reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals twice. The Heat have also posted the seventh-best regular-season winning percentage during this stretch, at 57.2%, at 223-167. However, the Heat have recently gotten off to a slow start to their campaign the last three seasons, failing to accumulate more than 10 victories in their first 19 games.
As a result of these slow starts, Miami has had to go through the play-in tournament the past two seasons, earning the No. 8 seed in the East. While the Heat were fortunate to get hot and took advantage of situations in 2o22-23 to become the first eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals, they were eliminated in five games by top-seeded Boston last year.
NBA Insider Says Two of Miami’s Young Players Need To Step Up For Heat To Be Contenders In East
Miami is on the verge of facing the same fate this year. On Friday, Miami defeated Toronto to improve to 9-8 on the season. It is the first time the Heat have been above .500 since the fifth game of the season, and they have not been more than a game above the mark.
The Heat have now won six of their last nine, though they still sit in sixth place in the conference. While it is early, Winderman says that Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic will have to “step up” for the Heat to avoid having to possibly go through the “play-in tournament” once again.
“For as much as there was the unknown about how much Erik Spoelstra’s 30-somethings had left in the tank, as in how much more could be mined from Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Kevin Love — there also was the intrigue of the next wave, Windeman said about when talking about the potential of Jaquez and Jovic. “What about the players who would pair going forward with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro?”
Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jacquez Jr.
Jovic showed some promise last season after becoming the Heat’s starting power forward after the trade deadline. He also started all five playoff games against the Celtics, playing fairly well, scoring in double figures three times. After Caleb Martin decided to bolt for Philadelphia, Spoelstra decided to make the 21-year-old a full-time starter.
But the Jovic starter experiment lasted just eight games. The 21-year-old forward averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists with shooting splits of 43.4/32.1/72.7 with the first unit. The biggest problem was that he had a minus -3.0 plus/minus as a starter.
Since moving to the bench, Jovic has received inconsistent minutes. The 6-10 forward has seen less than 10 minutes in three of his six appearances as a reserve. He also received three DNP-coach decisions in the last three contests, as Spoelstra has opted to go with 2024 first-round pick Ke’lel Ware instead.
Meanwhile, Jacquez was seen as a potential sixth-man-of-the-year candidate before the start of the season. After producing a solid rookie campaign, where he was fourth in ROY voting and 9th in 6th MOY, the 23-year-old wing has been very inconsistent offensively in the early going.
Jaquez averages 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 21.8 minutes a game over 21.8 minutes, which is seven minutes fewer than last season. 2024 second round pick. He has compiled a shooting slash line of 42.6/36/69. As a result of Jacquez’s inconsistent shooting and turnover issues, Spoelstra has given some of Jaquez’s minutes to 2024 second-round pick Pelle Larrson.
Final Word
Scoring and shooting are Miami’s most significant weaknesses. The Heat are 20th in scoring at 111 points a game and 24th in field goal percentage. So, Jovic and Jacquez, who have scored in double figures in his last two games and six of his 13 appearances, will assuredly get more opportunities.
Jovic and Jaquez are stronger offensive players than Ware and Larsson. However, Jovic and Jaquez have seen less playing time because the Heat have been playing better recently with Ware and Larsson on the court. The Heat have also been better with Jovic coming off the bench, so it would be surprising if he gets another shot with the first unit for the time being.
Jovic and Jacquez’s improvement is essentially good for the Heat—not only for this year’s club but for the franchise as a whole, as Winderman stated.
Jovic and Jaquez need to be something, to again become something, for the Heat not only to possess the depth needed with so many 30-something at the top of the rotation, but also for the Heat to have the type of assets necessary to swing a deal.
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