Category: Miami Heat

The Miami Heat’s exhibition finale was more like half of an exhibition, with coach Erik Spoelstra pulling all five of Friday night’s starters at halftime of the 110-104 loss to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. And even the first half hardly was the whole Heat, with Jimmy Butler making it an entire preseason without action, back in Miami following a dental procedure. Still, even in closing the preseason at 2-3, Spoelstra felt tangible progress was achieved. “I thought we had a really good camp,” he said. “I thought we’ve been able to get a lot of things accomplished. Different guys at...

MIAMI – The lone given Wednesday for the Miami Heat was Bam Adebayo, with the rest of the projected starters given the night off. So Adebayo got to work early, with 12 points in nine first-quarter minutes on the way to 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, sitting out the second half of the 107-104 exhibition loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center. With Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry rested for moments more meaningful, Adebayo was active early with his midrange jumper, before yielding the floor to those trying to crack the rotation or make the roster ahead of next...

MIAMI – No, not a formal dress rehearsal, not with Jimmy Butler out for the third time in as many exhibitions. But Sunday night’s 132-124 preseason victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center gave some hint of who and what the Miami Heat might be when they open their regular season Oct. 25 against the visiting Detroit Pistons. Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry each started for the second time in as many appearances this preseason. Haywood Highsmith was cast as both a perimeter and power component, some type of rotation role now seemingly likely. Thomas Bryant again played as preferred...

The crowd at Friday night’s exhibition at Frost Bank Center deemed attendance worthy because of the home debut of San Antonio Spurs No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra deemed it worthy because of the opportunity to explore the back end of his 21-player preseason roster. So while Wembanyama had his moments in his team’s 120-104 victory at the building formerly known as the AT&T Center, with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots in 22:51, Spoelstra’s focus was on what remained of a roster that left nine rotation...

MIAMI — Jimmy Butler’s perspective was probably best. He decided the night did not merit his involvement. Such is the value of an NBA exhibition opener. But the Miami Heat’s 113-109 preseason victory Tuesday over the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center did have its moments, including a rousing game-closing rally. “Winning matters, finding a way even when you’re down, it matters,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. There was Heat guard Tyler Herro playing in attack mode, after being attacked on the rumor mill during the offseason, closing with 22 points in 24 minutes. There was veteran point guard...

MIAMI — Four months after their season came to a close in a road loss to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat were back on the court Monday at Kaseya Center. Sort of. In what amounted to a close of the team’s training camp, the Heat held their annual Red, White & Pink Game, an intrasquad scrimmage to benefit cancer research. It meant a return of familiar faces, such as Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, as well as a variety of newcomers on the 21-player preseason roster that has to be trimmed to no more than 18 by Oct. 23. “It’s going to be a heck of a ride.”...

MIAMI — In the wake of losing Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency, the Miami Heat have turned to one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in franchise history … to coach. Wayne Ellington, nicknamed “The Man with the Golden Arm” during his tenure with the Heat from 2016 to 2019, has been added to Erik Spoelstra’s staff as a developmental assistant, taking the place of former Heat guard Anthony Carter, who has joined Taylor Jenkins’ coaching staff with the Memphis Grizzlies. Ellington has been out of the league since playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021-22. His hiring continues...

MIAMI — The story of a long-time NBA veteran point guard out of Oakland seeking an NBA championship with the Miami Heat while on the back end of his career in his 30s is not unique to Damian Lillard. It is a story, in fact, previously written. By Gary Payton, In 2006. Payton, now a coach with the halfcourt Big3 circuit, was back in Miami on Sunday as part of the league’s tour, working the officials at Kaseya Center with the same vigor seen before and during that 2005-06 championship season with the Heat. And, yes, as is the case with Lillard, Payton is all in on Lillard’s desire to relocate...

For weeks, when the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers were mentioned in the same sentence, that sentence invariably also included the name of Damian Lillard. Sunday night was the exception. With the teams meeting in their final game at the NBA2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas, the focus instead was on the youth of each team, not the 33-year-old All-Star guard who has lobbied for a trade from the Blazers to the Heat. That let the Heat’s neophytes show that while the team chases elite veteran talent, there also is something to be said about the youth in the pipeline. With 2022-23 rookies...