Heat get look at presumptive opening-night lineup in 101-99 preseason win over Pelicans

MIAMI — So what does a Miami Heat starting lineup of Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier look like?

Erik Spoelstra got a look at the quintet in a game situation for the first time ever in Sunday’s 101-99 exhibition victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center.

The early math? The Heat outscored the Pelicans by two with those five on the court, before all five were given the second half off.

“That group I thought was really encouraging,” Spoelstra said of the starters. “That’s how I thought they looked in training camp, in the Bahamas. The group has gone with it with the right mindset.

“The defense was very active and disruptive. And offensively, playing very fluid, flowing into actions without pauses.”

Most encouraging was the side-by-side backcourt play of Herro and Rozier, with Herro leading the Heat with 12 first-half points and Rozier second with 11 points over the opening two periods.

“Terry and Tyler, they look fast,” Spoelstra said. “They made our lineup look fast. Terry and Tyler gave us that pop.”

How much more of a presumptive opening-night lineup will be seen during the preseason remains uncertain, with Sunday beginning a congested run of four exhibitions in six nights, a run that ends Friday in Memphis, ahead of the Oct. 23 regular-season opener against the visiting Orlando Magic.

Until Sunday, the Heat’s opening five had not played a single second together – preseason, regular season or playoffs.

The game was decided when second-round pick Pelle Larsson, a hero of the Heat’s summer-league championship, converted a pair of free throws with 6 seconds to play to close out the scoring.

“It was important,” Larrson said, with the Heat up 20 earlier, “because we didn’t want to blow that big lead.”

Next up for the Heat are back-to-back home exhibitions against the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively.

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s exhibition against the Pelicans:

1. New look: The focus from the outset of camp, Spoelstra said, was to get as much court time together for Adebayo, Butler, Herro and Rozier.

“We actually have seen quite a bit,” Spoelstra said of those four together in practice. “They haven’t missed as much time as it may seem. I like the progress those guys are making, along with everybody else. And we’ll continue to look at them.”

Herro missed Tuesday’s preseason-opening road loss to the Hornets due to a groin strain.

The starting five alignment made it consecutive exhibition appearances for Butler, who did not play during last year’s preseason.

Alec Burks, who had started the preseason opener in place of Herro, was given the day off and not in uniform.

Adebayo closed with six points on 3 of 5 from the field, Butler with four points on 1 of 3, and Jovic with three, on 1 of 5.

None of the starters played more than 16:33, in street clothes by the finish.

“I liked what I saw and the guys I thought looked comfortable, as well,” Spoelstra said.

2. And then: The next five off the bench, playing as a unit, were Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duncan Robinson, Dru Smith, Haywood Highsmith and Kevin Love.

Like Herro, Jaquez missed the preseason opener with a groin strain.

It was the second consecutive exhibition Spoelstra went with a five-man second unit.

The question with Smith is whether he is just a placeholder for sidelined Josh Richardson, or will start the season on his two-contract as the backup point guard.

“He just makes winning play after winning play,” Spoelstra said. “The guys just love playing with him. Defensively, he’s really tough.”

Richardson remains sidelined in his recovery from last season’s shoulder surgery.

Another option potentially could be staggering the minutes of Herro and Rozier to have one as a de facto point guard with the second unit.

Smith had several solid defensive sequences, including a pair of early steals.

Smith then started the second half along with Highsmith, Jaquez, Robinson and Thomas Bryant.

Smith closed with five assists, four points and four rebounds in 16:27.

“The second unit,” Smith said, “we’ve had a good few days together.”

3. Alternate reality: When Adebayo, Butler, Herro and Rozier returned in the second period, they returned with Highsmith remaining on the court,

Highsmith as the starting power forward stands as a potential Plan B for a Heat starting lineup. It also could stand as a potential closing lineup.

Highsmith finished with six points and seven rebounds in 18:38.

4. Stepping back: After breakout play in last Monday’s intrasquad scrimmage and then Tuesday’s exhibition opener, Larsson was shuffled back to Sunday’s third unit, with first-round pick Kel’el Ware playing in that unit, as he did in the preseason opener.

Rounding out that third unit were Nassir Little, Josh Christopher and Zyon Pullin.

Ware entered after Bryant went for nine points in 9:34, on 4-of-5 shooting.

As was the case in the preseason opener, Love was limited to a single stint, Sunday playing 7:27, with five points and one rebound.

5. Dual impact: Both teams had their preseason schedule altered by Hurricane Milton, with last Thursday’s Heat home exhibition against the Hawks rescheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Kaseya Center, and with the Pelicans’ Friday exhibition in Orlando canceled.

“I think the big picture for us, always, is first of all having an awareness that basketball doesn’t matter right now,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said pregame. “That was the first thing for us as a group, making sure that we were sending prayers and thoughts and anything that we can do for the residents of Florida that were affected by the hurricane. That was first for us.”