It has not been a great October for the Miami Heat after emerging from the preseason slate as the only team in the NBA not to pick up a win. Some of the flaws that hindered Miami can be chalked up to the preseason, and none of it will matter as games start for real this week.
But some other glaring red flags have to be addressed if Miami is going to have any hope of surviving the 2025/26 campaign.
Three-point shooting was a nightmare for Miami
Part of this can be chalked up to not having Tyler Herro, but Miami emerged as the worst three-point shooting team of the preseason. It should say something when Kel'el Ware was Miami's 5th-best shooter from downtown.
While Jaime Jaquez Jr. actually emerged as a solid shooter from deep, and Norman Powell looks like he will be fine, guys like Pelle Larsson, Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Ethan Thompson, and Kasparas Jakucionis kept launching three that were not falling.
It also highlighted the decision to let Duncan Robinson go without a clear answer.
Beyond getting Herro back, the Ware/Adebayo dynamic, oddly enough, feels like it could be the fixable puzzle piece. Last year, Bam turned into a willing shooter from range and hit 35% from deep.
But if the two are going to be on the court at the same time this year, and Ware continues to push close to 40%, Miami might not need Adebayo to launch as many from range.
Lack of ball handlers
So even when Herro does come back, it doesn't solve one of the glaring weaknesses on the roster: Miami is still searching for a true ball handler.
In theory, Davion Mitchell seems to be the man for the job, and Jakucionis showed flashes that he can grow into the role, but beyond them, it is slim pickings on Miami's roster.
The result is that Miami averaged over 18 turnovers per game, which was bottom third of NBA teams during the preseason slate.
Rebounding solutions
The Heat also have a very real condumdrum on its hands when it comes to their rotations: Outside of Ware and Adebayo, Miami doesn't seem to have anyone capable of rebouding.
Miami had the 3rd worst defensive rebounding percentage in the NBA this preseason, allowing opponents to collect an offensive rebound over 35% of the time.
Precious Achiuwa was the third-best rebounder for Miami this preseason, but he has so many other flaws in his game that it's hard to see him getting significant minutes.