Alright, basketball junkies, let’s dive into the latest drama and triumphs from the hardwood!
Jovic’s Olympic Rollercoaster
So, picture this: right before the Paris Olympics, Serbia’s young gun Nikola Jovic goes down with an injury. It looked like he might miss the whole thing, but guess what? The dude bounced back just in time to help his squad snag a bronze medal. Talk about clutch!
Now, back in the States, Jovic is nursing some ligament pain. He hopped on a conference call and spilled the beans about his upcoming season, saying, โI would say Iโm almost fully healthy. Of course, thereโs a little ligament that still needs to be 100 percent. They told me it would take a little bit more time, but it shouldnโt be an issue. Basically, Iโm 100 percent,โ he told the Miami Herald.
Miami Heat‘s Nikola Joviฤ eyes full recovery for the start of the 2024/25 #NBA season:
โIโm almost 100 percent healthyโ
โ Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet)
Bouncing Back in the Sunshine State
Back in Florida, Jovic is putting in work to make sure his foot’s all good. He’s been pretty open about it, saying, โWeโre making sure that my foot is good after every practice because the injury I had is no joke, and we really donโt want any new problems with it.โ
In my opinion, the Heat are smart to play it safe with him. No need to rush and risk a setback, right?
Coach Pesic’s Faith
Jovic also shared some behind-the-scenes stuff from the Olympics. He showed up at training camp in a protective boot and only got a minor role because of it. โIt was not just a normal sprained ankle; it was a small fracture. I had MRIs and everything. At that point, they werenโt sure if I would make it to the Olympics. But my biggest goal was just to be there, be with the team, and help them as much as I could,โ he explained.
His coach, Svetislav Pesic, still wanted him in Paris. โWe flew to Paris, and I knew I wasnโt in great shape because I hadnโt played in a while. My foot maybe wasnโt ready for a big role, and we knew all that, and the coach understood everything. But he still wanted me to go; he still believed I could help as much as I could, and thatโs what I did,โ Jovic shared.
Rozier’s Road to Recovery
Speaking of injuries, Terry Rozier is also on the mend. Heโs not fully cleared for five-on-five yet but is grinding hard. โI would say not totally fully, fully, fully cleared playing five-on-five,โ Rozier said. โBut I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit three-on-three. But I figure in the next couple of weeks Iโll be graduating to five-on-fiveโฆIโve been trying to get back right ever since the season ended. So that required doing little stuff, like if I couldnโt run yet, I was doing bike riding or incline walking and stuff like that. So my condition is pretty good,โ the veteran expressed.
So, what do you think? Will Jovic and Rozier be back at full strength in time to make a splash this season? Or are we looking at another round of “what ifs”? Let me know your thoughts!
