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.
During Miami's season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic, though, coach Erik Spoelstra opted to lean heavily on a veteran core that, frankly, is a big part of why expectations aren't any higher for this team. If the Heat are going to keep riding their veterans, then this ride is headed nowhere special.
Miami's young core could unlock new possibilities for this season, but only if it gets a chance.
Give Spoelstra a do-over for his opening-night decisions, and he'd have found more fourth-quarter minutes for Ware. We said as much, and so did he.
Ware, who logged just 14 minutes on the night, exited with eight minutes remaining and essentially sat the rest of the way. (He came off the bench with 6.1 seconds left in case Wendell Carter Jr. missed a free throw, but sat immediately after when he didn't.) During that closing stretch, Miami squandered an eight-point lead and failed to secure some had-to-have-them rebounds.
It was frustrating to see, if only because it was entirely predictable. Rebounds have long been a concern for this club. Ware has been the most (only?) logical solution to the problem. But he is, of course, only able to impact the glass if he's actually out on the floor.
While the Heat managed to ramp up the speed of their offense, their efficiency again underwhelmed, and they didn't exactly move the needle with their passing or perimeter shooting. And yet, Jovic, a 6'10" forward with ball skills and a silky jumper, was afforded only 23 minutes (which Miami won by eight points, by the way), six shots, and a lower usage rate than Simone Fontecchio and Andrew Wiggins.
Larsson, meanwhile, was barely an afterthought. He played four minutes, missed his only shot, committed two fouls, and wasn't seen again.
And Jakucionis, of course, had his NBA debut delayed by a groin injury.
So, that was it. That was the crux of opening night for a young core that should, at least in theory, play the biggest part in raising Miami's ceiling.
It felt a bit like Spoelstra was more worried about establishing a high floor. Miami's four veteran starters all cleared 32 minutes. Fontecchio played more than Ware and Larsson combined.
The Heat have to know that a Bam Adebayo-Norman Powell-Andrew Wiggins core isn't contending, even in the injury-riddled East. Miami's glaring lack of star power is a huge problem, but it can be somewhat offset in one of two ways: either by the Heat developing a star in-house or using their depth to create an advantage on the opposition.
Both methods require a much longer leash for Miami's young players. Unless the Heat are dead-set on chasing mediocrity, that's exactly what Spoelstra has to afford them.