The Miami Heat will tip off their preseason slate on the road against the Charlotte Hornets Tuesday night and, right away, some big questions will be answered.
… Sort of.
Erik Spoelstra at media revealed four of his five starters, and on Tuesday night we should at least know how he’s leaning in regards to the fifth spot.
Locked in, as of now, are Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The fifth spot will come down to Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Haywood Highsmith.
The Heat will be down two rotation players for the preseason opener, but there should still be something to glean regarding Erik Spoelstra's rotation.
Jovic appears to have the inside track after starting Miami’s final 30 games, including five playoff games, at power forward. If Jovic holds onto the starting power forward spot then Jaquez and Highsmith will play important roles off the bench.
So, for this exercise, we will pencil that group in as the starting lineup. Determining the rest of the rotation is a bit more complicated, especially for a first preseason game.
Herro and Jaquez have been ruled out for the preseason opener, and Josh Richardson remains out as he rehabs his shoulder.
The Heat’s projected starters for the preseason opener, then, are Rozier, Robinson, Butler, Jovic and Adebayo.
Highsmith and Kevin Love should be the first two off the bench. We should expect to see veteran guard Alec Burks, signed as a free agent this summer, and rookie Kel’el Ware at an early point, too.
Other, deeper bench players should get some run. The Heat coaching staff will want to see fringe players Nassir Little and Dru Smith in action.
Little is on a non-guaranteed contract and will need a strong preseason to keep his spot on the 15-man roster.
Smith is Miami’s most vulnerable player on a two-way contract, with Keshad Johnson and Josh Christopher seemingly in strong position to keep theri spots. As such, Little and Smith have the most to prove this preseason.
Rookie Pelle Larsson and backup center Thomas Bryant should see some minutes, too, if Spoelstra gives the entire roster a chance to play as expected.
This is the projected rotation when the roster is healthy:
PG: Rozier / Burks / Smith
SG: Herro / Robinson / Christopher
SF: Butler / Jaquez / Johnson
PF: Jovic / Highsmith / Little
C: Adebayo / Love / Ware / Bryant
Of course, there’s no guarantee that veteran players like Butler and Adebayo will suit up either. With four more preseason games remaining after this one, it wouldn’t be surprising if some players sit this first one on the road out. No matter what, there should be something to glean from Spoelstra’s initial rotation.