Miami Heat Social Media Reaction: Nikola Jovic's Fan Base Growing By The Day
So much of this offseason for Miami Heat fans centered around the chase for Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
So it's somewhat refreshing a new player has entered the discussion. Forward Nikola Jovic got the fan base going by scoring 25 points on 9 of 9 shooting in Serbia's victory against South Sudan Monday morning in the FIBA World Cup.
A 4 a.m., tip-off had Jovic's name buzzing on the Internet by breakfast time. For once, there was no talk of Lillard.
Jovic is averaging 17 points, three assists and 2.6 rebounds in helping Serbia to a 3-0 start in pool play. He is taking advantage of the team being without Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, who isn't playing for his country this offseason.
The tournament is allowing Jovic a chance to showcase his ability after playing mostly in the G League last year as a rookie. He was considered an ideal piece of any trade packages for Lillard but some are starting to think otherwise. Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and rookie Jaime Jaquez are also trade bait possibilities.
The success of Jokic is likely causing the change in opinion. He is a two-time MVP, leading the Nuggets past the Heat in last year's NBA Finals. With international players having greater impacts each season, the Heat could be giving up too early on the next foreign sensation.
It's still too early to tell on Jovic. Again, this isn't the NBA but he's at least using the opportunity to show he could become a solid player at that level.
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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.
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