Nikola Jovic has made it to the FIBA World Cup semifinals with Team Serbia. Erik Spoelstra has made it to the FIBA World Cup semifinals as an assistant coach with Team USA. Let’s discuss all of this further.
Heat Off-Season Companion Part 12: Jovic Advances with Serbia
Team Serbia has made it to the semifinals of the FIBA World Cup, as mentioned earlier. Nikola Jovic has contributed well to the team’s success so far. Jovic had a respectable all-around game in Serbia’s latest win against Lithuania, providing eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Time will tell how Serbia’s game against Canada in the semifinals goes. Either way, this is good experience for Nikola Jovic. Jovic is getting valuable playing time which will allow him to develop his skills further.
As long as Jovic isn’t traded away, he should have a much bigger role with the Heat next season.
Erik Spoelstra Is In the Semifinals with Team USA
Team USA bounced back from its defeat against Lithuania and thrashed Italy in a 37-point win. As a result, Spoelstra is also now in the FIBA World Cup semifinals as an assistant coach with Team USA. Spoelstra is already an experienced and excellent coach at the NBA level.
Despite that, this experience with Team USA is good for Spoelstra. Spoelstra might be able to pick up some tactics he can implement for the Heat’s playbook. At the very least, Spoelstra has the chance to evaluate other NBA teams’ players and file that knowledge away for use in the upcoming NBA season.
Team USA plays much faster and is much smaller than the Heat. This contrast means this is a good learning experience even for a long-time coach like Spoelstra. We will see if Spoelstra incorporates Team USA’s quicker pace, transition scoring, or anything else into the Heat’s tactics.
The FIBA World Cup Is The Source of Heat News Right Now
There is no update on the Damian Lillard trade situation. The next deadline is the start of training companion on October 3rd. For now, the FIBA World Cup is the main source of Heat news.
It is a good bet that one of Team Serbia or Team USA will advance to the FIBA World Cup final.
Check back next week for more Heat content.