In what was as close to a dress rehearsal as possible for the Miami Heat, fans in many ways were left with more questions than answers about the team heading into the final week before the regular season.
Miami fell to 0-5 in the preseason after a road loss to the Atlanta Hawks in their fifth preseason game. With eight likely rotation players available for the Heat, Miami left much to be desired on both ends of the floor. To make matters even worse, the Hawks didn't even play the majority of their featured players, with Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Zaccharie Risacher all sitting out.
What was most depressing was that the Heat looked disjointed for most of the night. The big move by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was inserting Kel'el Ware into the starting 5 next to Bam Adebayo. This was the first time Ware and Bam played any minutes in preseason, and it sure seemed that way.
The Ware and Bam combo left much to be desired, and the Heat still struggled to dominate the boards against the Hawks, even with the bigger frontcourt.
While I'm sure there will be some positives that Spo will take away from this performance, it's going to be difficult for fans to be excited.
The Heat's disappointing preseason
And it wasn't just that the Heat lost, but it was the fact that there was little to get excited about in the process.
Dru Smith started at the point guard position, but didn't cement his status in that role by any means, and even Andrew Wiggins struggled on the offensive end of the floor. Bam struggled from the floor shooting, but continued to show an aggressive streak, which Miami is going to need as they begin the season without Tyler Herro. He also left the game after a knee injury.
Ware did not look comfortable next to Bam at all, and probably cemented himself as the primary backup heading into the start of the season. Nikola Jovic didn't play, and that's its own problem.
In fairness, Jaime Jaquez Jr. looked great, as has been the case all preseason long. At this point, he's been one of the few bright spots for the Heat in October.
Nevertheless, on a night that was supposed to bring some much-needed answers ahead of the start of the regular season, it only left fans with more questions.