3 players who could break into Heat starting lineup
The Miami Heat were three wins away from the most improbable NBA championship of all time. Now, Erik Spoelstra looks to pen a compelling sequel.
The Miami Heat finished last season as the No. 8 seed, a 44-win team scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to postseason expectations. Well, the Heat made a run — not only through the first round but all the way to the NBA Finals. Jimmy Butler went berserk, Caleb Martin achieved temporary stardom, and the seas of a wayward Eastern Conference parted.
Denver handedly ended Miami’s run in the championship series, but not before the Heat established high expectations for the 2023-24 season. Anything short of another Finals appearance could be viewed as a failure, or at the very least a sign of regression.
It’s easy to forget how uneven the Heat’s season was. Miami went on a torrid shooting streak in the playoffs, but 3-point shooting was not a team strength in the regular season. Butler has always been capable of heroic performances on the big stage, but Caleb Martin went from a role player to one vote shy of conference finals MVP. That simply does not happen regularly.
It will take a lot of luck, effort, and maybe a Damian Lillard trade for the Heat to recreate the magic of last postseason. Miami lost starting point guard Gabe Vincent in free agency. Butler is a year older and Dame is by no means a guarantee. Tyler Herro, who has been involved in trade rumors all summer, will be asked to lock in and commit to a starring role on the perimeter. Martin probably won’t reach the same heights as he did in the postseason. There’s a strong chance the Heat simply underwhelm in the new year.
That said, it’s now certifiably impossible to count out any team coached by Erik Spoelstra. Especially if that team employs Jimmy Butler. The Heat have a pretty concrete starting five in advance of the regular season (Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo), but Spo has never been afraid of midseason changes and the Heat have several interesting depth pieces who could break into more prominent roles.
Miami Heat player who could break into starting lineup: 3. Nikola Jovic
The Heat acquired Kevin Love after the trade deadline last season and started him in 17 of 21 appearances. A lack of size was problematic for Miami all season and it crept up in the playoffs too, especially in the Finals. That said, Love’s days as an NBA starter are probably over. Nikola Jovic, meanwhile, is at the front end of what promises to be a long and productive NBA career.
The 20-year-old played sparsely in his rookie season, but he looked great in Summer League and there’s reason to believe he will carve out a consistent role in year two. He has been a centerpiece in Damian Lillard trade hypotheticals all summer, but assuming no deal transpires — or, at the very least, no deal transpires with him in it — he has a real path to the starting five.
At 6-foot-10, Jovic would supply more size in the frontcourt next to Bam Adebayo. He could either usurp Caleb Martin or bump Martin to the three and Jimmy Butler to the two, essentially upsizing the entire lineup. Kyle Lowry’s days as a full-time starter are numbered and Tyler Herro has ample experience in a sixth-man role. After Miami’s deep postseason run with Herro on the sidelines, it wouldn’t exactly boggle the mind if Spoelstra went back to using Herro as an overqualified second-unit spark plug.
While not a proven defender, Jovic is light on his feet with enough length to deter drives and muck up passing lanes. The Heat love to switch screens and Jovic would fit schematically. On the offensive end, he’s a competent 3-point shooter with a wide array of ancillary skills that excite the fanbase. Jovic is comfortable putting the ball on the floor, driving the lane, and making passes on the move. He’s not quite jumbo point guard material, but he profiles as tremendous connective tissue in the frontcourt so long as the 3s fall with some level of consistency.