Nikola Jovic shines for Serbia and what it means for Miami

The FIBA Basketball World Cup European qualifiers are underway and that means we have Nikola Jovic playing on the Serbian national team once again. Serbia played their first game of the qualifiers against Switzerland and won this contest easily with a final score of 97-73.

How did Jovic perform?

Jovic started this game for Serbia and had an excellent showing producing 22 points, 5 assist, and 2 rebounds. That box score is excellent, but it gets even better when you hear that he shot a stellar 8/13 from the field which equates to 61.5%. Simply put, Jovic was cooking.

In my opinion the best play Jovic made in the game was when he attacked the basket on a fastbreak with a little over 1 minute left in the 2nd quarter. He used his size and touch to score over the defender with a nice layup while drawing the foul. This was a big momentum swing of the game as it was still close and this helped get the game in Serbia’s favor.

Why this performance matters

As many Miami Heat fans are aware, Jovic has consistently performed well with Serbia throughout his whole international career. This game should not come as a surprise or an outlier. Some might point to the diminished competition or playing alongside Nikola Jokic for the reason as to why he performs. Though these are valid possibilities, at this stage in time I am not concerned about the why.

Sports are as much a mental as they are physical. Last season Jovic noticeably lacked confidence in his game. His performances plummeted and often his head dropped after a mistake. Once a player starts losing confidence in their abilities it can be difficult to recoup. This was the case for Jovic, once things started to go south it spiraled out of control.

This is why I do not care about the possible reasons as to why he performed so well. Right now, Miami needs Jovic to gain confidence and stringing together good performances is the perfect way to do that.

What this could mean for the Heat

The Heat are in a tight spot with their roster. They do not have much money to spend on remaining free agents but have several areas they need to improve in. There are a few players available that many projected to take the veteran minimum that can help fill these roles. The veteran minimum guys might not be enough though, this is where Jovic comes into play.

There really are two ways Jovic can help Miam with playing well for Serbia. The first is what I eluded at previously. If Jovic regains confidence and then starts to perform at the level which we know he can, that at once gives a boost to the team. He would help solve shooting and positional size issues. He could even help be a ball handler in transition, something he has typically excelled at.

The other avenue Jovic can help the Heat is by flashing his potential which then makes it easier for the Heat to trade him to open up cap space. This would allow the Heat to have more money available to entice players that are above the veteran minimum quality.

Either way you want to think about it Jovic showing what he can do is great news for Miami. Now everyone hopes this play continues.

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