Night one of the NBA season was quite the classic as the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a 125-124 2OT win over the Houston Rockets. For Heat fans watching, it was a reminder of just how far Miami has to go before rejoining the land of the elites.
And one of the most notable aspects about both rosters is that, beyond just sheer star power, both teams have a clear methodology of how they want their roster built, which runs in stark contrast with how the Heat are built.
Heat dependent on small ball in 2025/26
It was noted prior to the game that Houston's starting lineup had an average height of 6'10". Houston had a newfound addition, Kevin Durant, playing the 2 spot.
If you are keeping score at home, that's a 6'11" shooting guard on Houston's roster.
Oklahoma City is built a bit more traditionally, with Luguentz Dort coming in at just 6'4", but it is their combo of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein that really helps give them a size advantage few teams could match last season.
Juxtapose that with the Heat, who have a projected win total of 37.5 games in 2025-26. Bam Adebayo is 6'9", Nikola Jovic is 6'10", Kel'el Ware is 7'0", and that's about it for size for Miami.
It's not saying a team has to have size to win, and there are certainly ways for Miami to be effective without an ocean of big men. But Miami was just 3rd to last in the preseason in defensive rebounding percentage.
Then factor in that last season Miami was dead last in blocks, third to last in opponent shooting percentage inside six feet, and third to last in percentage of offensive rebounds collected, and it's not unfair to wonder if the Heat could use a little more size.
The Heat's main way of counteracting this has been to attempt a more up-tempo style this preseason, though the results on that have been mixed as Miami struggled to knock down three pointers throughout the six-game preseason slate.
Miami should get a good test of its small-ball approach on opening night, as the Orlando Magic are also littered with 6'10" guys looking to cause matchup problems with the Heat, and it will be a decent indication if the roster construction in Miami needs to start to copy some of the other teams in the NBA.