Heat Notes: Jovic, Love, Jaquez, Swider

The Heat still believe in Nikola Jovic, a first-round pick in 2022, but his playing time hasn’t increased so far in his second NBA season, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Even with a rash of early-season injuries, Jovic has barely gotten off Miami’s bench, logging 28 total minutes in two games.

“There’s always someone – I hope nobody gets injured – but some players rest and stuff,” Jovic said. “So there will be certain times where I’ll probably be able to play. But the fact is that in the normal rotation, I’m not in it. It’s just on me to continue to work. These guys do a great job of developing players, and I think I’ve developed a lot since last year and I think I’ll be even better this year. My chances will come and I hope I’m going to be play good when it comes.”

With Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin both injured and Jimmy Butler sitting out for personal reasons, Saturday’s game in Atlanta could have been an opportunity for coach Erik Spoelstra to turn to Jovic. Instead, his bench rotation consisted of Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Dru Smith and Jamal Cain.

Spoelstra noted that Jovic was unavailable over the past week due to illness and indicated that he will eventually get a chance to play.

“He’s had a really productive five months this offseason and the preseason and training camp,” Spoelstra said. “You can see that he’s grown. He’s a much different player than last year and that’s a credit to the work that he’s put in. Starting last year during the playoff run when nobody was paying attention. He was really working on preparing his body and conditioning and everything for the summer ahead.”

There’s more on the Heat:

• Love was back on the court Saturday, playing for the first time since being removed from the starting lineup three games ago, Chiang adds in a separate story. Love entered the game when Bam Adebayo came out, replacing Thomas Bryant as the primary backup center for at least one night. Chiang notes that Miami has been outscored by 14.6 points per 100 possessions with Bryant on the court, and Spoelstra suggested that rotations could change from game to game with Herro and Butler sidelined.
• Rookie guard Jaime Jaquez made his second straight start and served as the team’s primary ball-handler for stretches of the game, Chiang adds. He finished with career highs of 20 points and 39 minutes played. “I keep saying he’s not a normal rookie,” Adebayo said. “At some point, somebody is going to believe me because he keeps on putting performances like this.”
• In another piece for the Herald, Cole Swider tells Chiang that he was prepared for a call-up from the G League after hearing about Herro’s injury. The two-way small forward was assigned to Miami’s affiliate in Sioux Falls on Tuesday, but was back with the NBA team for Saturday’s game.