PHILADELPHIA — It was as if Doc Rivers saw this coming. Then again, Rivers already had seen what was coming.
Ahead of his midseason shift to Milwaukee Bucks coach, Rivers was an analyst for ESPN during the Heat’s road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 3. That night, with the Heat without Jimmy Butler, Rivers saw Heat 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic and Heat ’23 first-rounder Jaime Jaquez Jr. contribute to a 110-96 victory over LeBron James, Anthony Davis & Co.
As a neutral observer, Rivers was impressed.
Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum, with the Heat again lacking Butler, Rivers saw Jovic go for a career-high 24 points and Jaquez add a quality 12 off the bench in a 123-97 Heat victory — kid stuff paying off again for Erik Spoelstra and the Heat.
It was the type of contribution from the two that Rivers practically foreshadowed hours earlier, when asked during his pregame media session what he had thought about the Heat draft picks on that early-January night in Los Angeles.
“Just Miami does it again,” Rivers said. “It’s funny, I was not even in a competitive role, honestly, but it pissed me off. Like how do they keep getting these guys in the 20s? They keep doing it.
“And basically the reason is, and I even asked Erik this — and that time he would tell me, I don’t think he would tell me any more — they kind of target guys that fit their culture and the way they want to play.”
Actually, Jaquez was the No. 18 pick out of UCLA last June, while Jovic went No. 27 out of Serbia in 2022. But, still, two players out of lottery range now twice making lottery-level contributions in front of Rivers’ eyes, including during a Tuesday night Heat victory so stunning that Rivers pulled his starters down 29 with 7:40 to play.
“Jaquez, I mean, he’s the perfect fit for who they are and how they want to be,” Rivers said of the wing selected to play in Friday night’s Rising Stars competition at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. “You know, it’s funny, I think certain guys actually target them, ‘Man, I’d fit in this system.’ Utah did that for years with Jerry Sloan. They kept doing it.
“And Miami’s doing it. But it’s more about their system and how they play, and how they target. But both of those guys are fun to watch.”
Afterward, not so fun for Rivers who credited Jovic as a Tuesday night difference maker.
“He made shots. And that’s what he does,” Rivers said, with Jovic closing 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers. “Another young guy who knows how to play.”
Jaquez, who returned to a reserve role in Milwaukee after starting in Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center in place of Butler, finished Tuesday with four assists and three rebounds, leading all reserves against the Bucks in going 27:52.
In the end, it was the youthful energy of Jovic and Jaquez helping to neutralize a mostly healthy opponent lacking only Khris Middleton.
“They move without the ball, they share the ball, that’s how they play,” Rivers said of the Heat. “We didn’t handle that very well.”
For as much as the Heat are known for their veteran cohesion, Tuesday was a display of the possibilities of the youth in support.
“Just the speed, pace, they were quicker on everything, on both ends,” Rivers said, with the Heat moving on to a Wednesday night game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, their final game before an eight-day All-Star break. “You have these nights. You hate ’em, but it is what it is.”
While Jaquez, 22, has earned more notoriety in his single season than Jovic, 20, in his two, Tuesday was a night when the roles were reversed.
“I know how much work I need to put in to be able to play,” Jovic said. “It feels great. The last two months, I knew how much work I had to put in to be able to play. It feels great. And I was ready.”