MIAMI – There long has been a Peter Pan-like innocence with Nikola Jovic, the Miami Heat forward who was drafted into the NBA the same month he turned 19, three years later still barely shows signs of facial hair, and continues to exude a youthful buoyancy so atypical of his team’s all-business approach.
And yet, as he sat at Saturday night’s postgame interview session, it became clear that the now-22-year-old Serbian big man very much has taken the next step in his basketball maturity — by taking ownership.
Coming off a career-best 29-point performance that night in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, this moment in front of the media and cameras could have been a victory lap.
Instead, it was something far different – by taking ownership.
Because three weeks into his third season, and a month after being rewarded with a four-year, $62.4 million extension, Jovic owned up to an uneven start, even while basking in victory.
“I thought it was going to be a lot easier,” he said. “I would have lied if I said that the last two weeks were easy, because I felt like everything I did was wrong, and I was not helping this team at all.”
So — he took ownership.
“And I want to thank the coaches and everybody from the team for supporting me and letting me know that I’m important for the team,” he said. “But my head just wasn’t there. I didn’t know how to help the team. And like I said, I thought everything I did was wrong.”
At another time, including those nascent Heat weeks, months and years of his NBA career, there might have been deflection.
Now? Candor.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know where it came from. I really don’t know how to explain it,” he continued of his uneven play to open the season. “Mentally, I wasn’t good; physically, I felt bad. I feel like everything I did was wrong, like I said. But it just came out of nowhere. And you can see through the games, I just wasn’t helping myself. I looked worse and worse. And, you know, it’s obvious that I wasn’t playing great basketball.
“Hopefully I’ll play better and hopefully I’ll help these guys and this team.”
When you are viewed by everyone’s little brother, the support system rarely is in doubt.
“He gets down on himself a lot,” teammate Norman Powell said. “Just staying in his ear throughout the game, keeping him positive and not focusing on mistakes.”
Including Saturday night, when Jovic was at his best.
” I told him after the first timeout, I don’t want to see his body language go down when he makes a bad play. He’s too talented for that,” Powell said.
A powerful fourth quarter followed.
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“He’s been playing great, working so hard, and he’s due for a night like that,” guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “He’s really a guy that can bring this team to the next level. Just keep continuing to feed confidence into him. He’s an incredible player.”
For coach Erik Spoelstra, it is a balancing act. Jovic at his best can be integral to success. Jovic uncertain and unfocused can be a detriment.
“You can choose to float, or you can choose to insert your will on a game,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not about like how many points you score, it’s about imposing your will on a game.”
Unless, of course, the imposing can be a bit too improvisational.
“I gave him a hard time that last iso, he did a double step-back, James Harden three,” Spoelstra said of a play late in the Portland game when Jovic attempted to take a bit too much into his own hands. “I would have liked to see what happened if he imposed his will on that possession. That’s a growth opportunity. He hasn’t been in that situation very often, where we just say ‘open’ and you create a play for us. But I think he would have gotten into the paint and made the right play.
“But I just liked the assertiveness.”
