Inside The Heat

Miami Heat's Nikola Jovic Gains Opportunity From Teammate Injury

Ethan J. Skolnick|
Apr 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) looks to the basket beside Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) in the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Apr 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) looks to the basket beside Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) in the fourth quarter of game two of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

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Nikola Jovic has already made his mark this offseason for the Serbian national team, in warmups to EuroBasket and in the games themselves. And while he was offensively quiet in the last game, a 84-80 win against Latvia in which center Nikola Jokic scored 39 points, he did contribute in other ways, and was a plus overall in the victory.

Now Jovic will need to do more, to help the favorites take the title.

One of the team's top scorers, Bojan Bogdanovich, ruptured his hamstring and will miss the rest of the tournament. Bogdanovich, who plays in the NBA with the Clippers, was averaging 9.0 points per game and was being leaned on to up his production as the tourney progressed.

So that likely means more shots for Jovic, the Miami Heat forward who took only three on Saturday after starring offensively in the two prior games. The Heat have been ecstatic with Jovic's progress this offseason, in the gym and on the court. He projects as a possible starter in training camp -- or at the least, an option as the sixth man.

Without question, Serbia (now 3-0 and a guarantee to advance out of group play) will go as far as Jokic can carry them. But he will need complementary help at times, and Jovic has shown the ability to score from deep and attack in the games so far.

Serbia plays next on Sunday, against 0-3 Czechia.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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