#miami-heat

#miami-heat

Miami Heat: Norman Powell (groin) OUT Tyler Herro (foot) OUT Kasparas Jakucionis (groin) OUT Terry Rozier (not with team) OUT Vladislav Goldin (g-league) OUT LA Lakers: Deandre Ayton (back) OUT LeBron James (sciatica) OUT Gabe Vincent (ankle) OUT Thiero Adou (knee) OUT Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle) OUT Miami Heat: Davion Mitchell, G Pelle Larsson, G Andrew Wiggins, F Bam Adebayo, F/C Kel'el Ware, C LA Lakers: Luka Doncic, G Austin Reaves, G Marcus Smart, F Rui Hachimura, F Deandre Ayton, C

It's a competitive group. Where you think you may have advantages if you're the other team, they make up for it with their activity and their toughness. They have a lot of belief and spirit about them that's great. And then offensively - wow. They really play a collective game. The ball moves, they cut, they move great without the ball. They find open players. It's really a fun group to watch.

You know that new offensive approach everyone keeps raving about? The one that feels like it has already changed what's possible for the Heat this season? Well, as innovative as it appears for them, it's actually modeled off of the Memphis Grizzlies' approach from last season. In fact, Spoelstra and his staff actually consulted with former Grizzlies assistant Noah LaRoche before installing the motion-based offense, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

The Miami Heat broke their record for points in a single half on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 86, four more than their previous total that has been set three times. Bam Adebayo led the charge with 20 points, scoring 18 first-quarter points with four 3-pointers; Simone Fontecchio had 14 points on four made threes of his own in his lone eight-minute stint;

The Heat were obviously without their top scorer in Tyler Herro, and yet they still made it a competitive game down to the wire in Orlando. Anytime a team goes on the road missing a crucial part of their equation and still stays in the game until the final minutes, that always says something about their resilience. Having that element to your group means your effort level isn't going to waiver based on what your personal is.

The Miami Heat have a real chance to surprise folks during the 2025-26 NBA season. Now, that's partly due to the relative lack of expectations for this team, but it's also a belief built around real, tangible excitement for a young core that impressed all offseason. Pelle Larsson had a sensational summer. Nikola Jovic starred at EuroBasket. Kel'el Ware looked unstoppable in the preseason. All three, plus first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis, figured to play a massive part in Miami surprising all the skeptics this season.