Heat’s head coach Eric Spoelstra finally reveals the reason why he loved the ejection of Nikola Jovic on Tuesday against Piston amid Bam Adebayo’s reaction [Full story link in comment]
While the Miami Heat beat the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night to get their second straight win, it was an up and down game for young star Nikola Jovic. He would score eight points, collect four rebounds, and record two assists, but was also ejected from the contest after getting two technical fouls, an event that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra saw the bright side in.
After the game, Spoelstra made sure to mention that he has no intention of diminishing the fire and passion of Jovic, despite it resulting in an ejection. He would then defend what Jovic did that gave them the technical fouls, especially the final one where he an “emotional outburst” that Spoelstra says the great players are allowed one of those.
“I’m definitely not going to try to squash that,” Spoelstra said to the media after the 118-110 victory to the Pistons that marks 11 wins in the last 14 games. “We love passion, we love competition, we love guys getting into all that.”
“I mean, I’ve seen a lot of players kind of toss the ball against the basket stanchion,” Spoelstra continued. “He wasn’t even upset about anything. It wasn’t a call. There wasn’t anything to debate on that, for the first one. And the second one, you’re allowed an emotional burst. Everybody is. The great players, for sure are.”
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Spoelstra says Jovic’s ejection will be “teaching moment”
While Spoelstra acknowledges that it will be a “teaching moment” for Jovic, he doesn’t want him to lose the love and passion for playing basketball and improving in their system
“So will it be a teaching moment? Yes,” Spoelstra said. “But, at the same time, I like his emotions. I like him being enthusiastic about competition. It matters to him. And that’s growing with him. I think as you get a little more comfortable, your personality can come out a little bit more, and that’s a good thing.”
Jovic and Adebayo together in the starting lineup a boost for Miami
Jovic has found himself as a mainstay now in the starting lineup where his playing time has been very sporadic, a trait that even the 20-year old player said himself he either starts or doesn’t play. However, he is inserted next to star Bam Adebayo as a power forward that plays big and provides spacing.
The two players have been experimenting in a two-man action together and it has been paying dividends, especially when he is in the starting lineup as the Heat have a +8.3 net rating according to Five Reasons Sports. Spoelstra talked about the two playing together and how they both work well under the Heat.
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“In terms of the two main action between the two of them, will we be running actions with those two guys in particular, I don’t know. The ball has to go to a lot of different places,” Spoelstra said. “The one thing I do know is they both have great skill level. And it’s almost inverted for us when your two bigs can both handle the capacity, both can make plays. They can both finish at the rim and they both feel very comfortable just being facilitators. I think that adds to the diversity of our menu. And Nikola also helps us run more which I like, but it’s passing and skill level and size all those things you know fit.”
Adebayo pokes fun at Jovic’s ejection.
Adebayo as well touched on Jovic’s skill, saying he is “a great passer” who is “soaking up all the knowledge” possible. He would start his statement on the Serbian player by poking fun at the ejection, saying he needs to be in the game to show his skills.
“We got to keep him in the game!” Adebayo said. “He’s soaking up all the knowledge as much as possible and taking advantage of the opportunity. Obviously, he’s a great passer, when you play alongside somebody like that can also pass it just make your five more dynamic.”
When asked what he has seen the most improvement in terms of Jovic’s development, he once again made fun of the ejection saying that it isn’t his money. However, he has talked about him “taking advantage of the opportunity” and addressed that the playing time has been up-and-down this season.
Miami is now 35-26 on the season which puts them sixth in the Eastern Conference. Their next game will be Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks as it starts a short two-game road trip.
“He’s losing money every day. I don’t know if that’s an improvement or not,” Adebayo said. “His biggest improvement is he’s taken advantage of this opportunity. Sometimes he was in or out the lineup. He’ll start some days, wouldn’t play the next day. So being able to get this consistent routine where he is in the lineup and starting is big for him. We’ll see what he brings to the table.”