Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says that he still hasn't decided on the starting 5 for opening night against the Orlando Magic. Assuming that is the case, Heat fans should be concerned heading into the start of the season.
It's not that everything has to be set in stone already for the Heat, but it would be helpful if there were some sort of initial plan in place to begin the year. All of that would theoretically start with a starting 5 ready to go. Not for Spo, at least not yet.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said today he's still deciding on the starting lineup for opening night.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 20, 2025
Spoelstra: "We'll figure it out. Whatever the starting lineup is for game one, that might not be it for game two. We got time.”
In fairness to Spo, the Heat's injuries have certainly thrown a wrench in everything the team has wanted to accomplish this preseason.
They didn't have an ideal dress rehearsal because of injuries, and I'm not even sure if Spo got a clean look at his prototypical starting 5 for opening night. Nevertheless, Spo is going to have to make a pretty big decision soon.
Is Erik Spoelstra playing coy?
On the one hand, I don't think it would be all that outrageous if that's exactly what was happening here. However, at the same time, why would Spo need to do so for the first game of the regular season?
Sure, it wouldn't be surprising for Spo to do such a thing, especially considering how mad of a basketball scientist he is, but there's not much use for it right now. So while I think there's a good chance he could be leaning one way or another, I do also believe that there's a good chance that he may not be completely sold on who will start for the team on night one.
And at least to a certain extent, that has to be at least somewhat concerning. For a team that will almost need to find an identity fast, it's not great that Spo is still not completely sold on what he's going to do on night one.
This is not to say that Spo has to be married to the starting lineup right now, but it would be smart if he had a sense of what he's going to experiment with first.
This is a big season for the future of the franchise. Every decision and detail of the year will be magnified much further, even despite the fact that the Heat aren't expected to be a contender this year.
The fact that, as of Monday's practice, the Heat didn't have a starting 5 in place has to be at least somewhat off-putting for the fans.