The Serbian-born star has not logged a single minute in the past six games, two due to an ankle injury, after ending last season and beginning this one in the starting lineup. Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints before Saturday’s contest that “he’s still right there” in terms of returning to the lineup and how he’s going through the typical process of a young player.

“Yeah, he’s had a good week, and he just has to stack positive days on top of each other,” Spoelstra said. “And you know, that’s the challenge with young players. If you’re not playing, which he could tonight, you know, that’s the thing. You know, he’s still right there. We have made some changes when he was out, but you have to stack good days, and you have to control what you have to control.”

“And yes, I’ll be evaluating habits, the details, attention to the small things,” Spoelstra continued. “All of those things that are habits that are important for young players to really understand that it’s not just about the games, you know, all these other things can put you in a position to compete and contribute and play well. It’s a matter of connecting those dots, and he’s getting better. So that’s like the journey of a lot of young guys in this league right now, but he’s physically in a much better place now, and we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Heat’s Nikola Jovic “frustrated” with the lack of playing time

The Heat forward would be relegated to the bench after the first eight games of the season, where the team had a 3-5 record, with his role being to space out the floor and start in the front court alongside Bam Adebayo. He would say Friday that he is “frustrated” with the lack of playing time but understands Spoelstra’s thought process of finding the best rotations, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“Of course, I’m frustrated just because I’m not playing,” Jovic said after practice on Friday. “But it just shows you that I can keep working on myself. That’s what I’m doing now. You got to gain that trust back from the coaches and everyone.”

“I know I’m good enough, I know I’m a good player,” Jovic continued. “I don’t think it’s that. It’s the style of basketball play, the things that coach wants from certain lineups, it’s just something that, I guess, I’m not fitting right now. That’s why I got to work on those things and get back. I’m really not questioning how good I am now.”

At any rate, Miami is currently 10-10, which puts them seventh in the Eastern Conference as they begin a tough back-to-back starting Saturday against the Suns and then Sunday facing the Cleveland Cavaliers.