#nikola-jovic

#nikola-jovic

MIAMI -- Heat forward Nikola Jovic walked off the court with a splint-like device over his right arm after he took a hard foul while driving to the basket late in the first quarter of a game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night. The Heat later said it was an elbow injury. Jovic entered the game 12 seconds before the injury when he took a pass and was hit high by Toronto's Collin Murray-Boyles.

A decision that, for the most part, may have been taken out of Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra's hands, thanks to an injury to Kel'el Ware. Spo still hadn't committed to a starting 5 as of practice a little more than 24 hours ahead of their season-opener against the Magic. However, after Ware suffered an ankle sprain toward the end of Tuesday's practice, all signs do now seem to point to Jovic getting the starting nod. Officially, Ware is listed as questionable.

If Jovic can keep this efficient level of play for the Heat, there's reason to believe that he could emerge as somewhat of an answer for the team at the point forward position. Even when their backcourt is fully healthy, there have been questions about whether they have enough playmaking on the roster. After electing not to address that concern this past offseason, perhaps this is a role that Jovic could end up filling.