Heat forward Nikola Jovic fractured the second metacarpal on his right hand in the first half of an eventual 120-113 Sunday loss to Milwaukee, the team announced (Twitter link).
Across 15 minutes of action off the bench, Jovic finished the game with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.
A recovery timeline for the 6’10” big man has yet to be established. The third-year pro is in the midst of his best NBA season yet. Through 46 games, he’s averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.8 steals a night. The 21-year-old is logging shooting splits of .456/.371/.828.
In the third frame, head coach Erik Spoelstra inserted veteran forward Kyle Anderson into his rotation to replace Jovic’s minutes.
Ahead of the season, Miami picked up Jovic’s $4.45MM team option for the fourth and final year of his rookie-scale deal, which will keep him under team control through 2025/26. His growth thus far is one of the few things that’s gone right for the Heat this year.
Sunday’s defeat to Milwaukee marked the Heat’s seventh loss across its last 10 bouts. Since Miami traded six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Warriors as part of a five-team blockbuster deal, the Heat have gone just 1-5. Overall, the club has fallen to an underwhelming 26-29 record on the season, but remains in the thick of the conference’s play-in tournament hunt.
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that a potential extended absence for Jovic could have significant ripple effects for Miami this year. Spoelstra has been bringing in Jovic and wing Duncan Robinson in tandem as his first options off the bench. Winderman observes that forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., who did not play against Milwaukee, could also see more run with Jovic out.