Miami Heat second-year forward Nikola Jovic has found himself in a bit of hot water ahead of his team’s Eastern Conference showdown against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. This is after the Serbian supposedly went on an all-out rant about his lack of playing time with the Heat.
Nikola Jovic Unhappy With Situation in Miami?
A Serbian news outlet recently published an article that supposedly quoted Jovic talking about his frustrations with the Heat:
“It’s not easy, it’s really not easy. It’s even harder for me than last year,” Jovic said (h/t Zachary Weinberger of ClutchPoints). “I mean, I kind of feel like I can play and I deserve it. They think I’m not ready yet and I totally understand. There is nothing there. I don’t know where this is going, and all I’m trying to do is be on the field as much as possible. Somehow, even when I’m playing, I feel like maybe I’m being misused. I hope that some things will change.”
“Everything I’m good at, they don’t seem to use, and what I’m worse at, they seem to force it. Those things make me not feel the best on the pitch. What do I know, it will get better.”
If you take this at face value, it is clear that Jovic is unhappy with his situation in Miami, particularly with how the team has supposedly refused to give him the opportunities he feels he deserves.
Nikola Jovic Clears Air Ahead of Milwaukee Bucks Game
Jovic caught wind of the controversial storyline and he decided to address it after Monday’s practice ahead of Miami’s Tuesday night bout against the Bucks. The Miami forward denied making such comments and claimed that the quotes were taken out of context.
Jovic cleared the air by stating his true feelings about his fledgling tenure in South Beach:
“I’m going to say it again, so you guys don’t need to translate it and nobody is going to make it up,” Jovic said. “Basically what I said, this team is playing great without me and minute-wise I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. This team is playing great, so there’s no point of even playing me right now. And I get it, I totally get it. So that was the first thing.”
“… Of course, I want to play and I will help this team as much as I can, but this team was playing great. Before the injuries, we were top three in the East, which we should be there. The guys without me are playing unbelievably good, and I support them like last year and they should stay like that.”
The young man went on to call out the Serbian media by pointing out that they have a reputation for making up “a lot of fake rumors.”
For what it’s worth, the Heat are currently dealing with a myriad of injuries ahead of Tuesday’s showdown against Milwaukee, so perhaps Jovic could see some action against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co.
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