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Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Says Nikola Jovic Was One Of The Positives Of Recent Road Trip

Despite going 0-4 on trip, the rookie Jovic was a bright spot

The Miami Heat just recently completed an 0-4 road trip. 

While coach Erik Spoelstra was disappointed, he was impressed the play of rookie Nikola Jovic. He averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. 

"That's one of the positives from this road trip," Spoelstra said. "... There were some positives and Niko was one of them. I thought his minutes were solid. They weren't perfect but you can't expect them to be. What I saw is he's gotten a lot better since training camp. It's been pretty diligent work to get to this point." 

Spoelstra said he likes the way Jovic has played alongside Bam Adebayo but has been mostly impressed with the rookie's passing game. 

"They play a similar role offensively, so it hasn't been a big adjustment and Niko's skills set can fit with a lot of different lineups," Spoelstra said. "He tends to make other guys better. Once you can realize who can pass, who's a willing passer who can get you easy buckets, you don't even need to coach because then all of a sudden become great cutters because they're motivated to get a score." 

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