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Unexpected shift in starting 5 exposes Heat's paper-thin backcourt depth

Miami had to go deep into the bench to find a starter
ByBenjamin Henderson|
Oct 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) drives up the court as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) defends in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Oct 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) drives up the court as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) defends in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat lost again on Wednesday night, falling to the San Antonio Spurs 112-107 to drop to 0-3 in the preseason. Unlike Miami's first two preseason games, where the starters gave the Heat the lead before the reserves coughed it up, it was the starting five that had a rough night, with four of the starters having a +/- of at least minus 15.

But it's the 5th starter Erik Spoelstra employed on Wednesday that raised some eyebrows, as it exposes just how thin the backcourt truly is for the Heat this season.

Dru Smith gets the start on Wednesday

Given the injuries to Miami's guards, Spoelstra has been forced to experiment with his backcourt, and it was Dru Smith getting the start alongside Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo.

Smith wound up playing 13 minutes, scoring six points on two made three-pointers, one assist, and two fouls.

If Dru Smith is the answer, we're not sure we want to know the question.

Just like with Jaime Jaquez Jr. starting the first two preseason games, we don't expect Smith to be an actual starter on this team, as we're assuming Davion Mitchell will carry the load until Tyler Herro comes back.

But the fact that Smith is that high up the pecking order to even get a start in preseason reveals the same thing JJJ getting two starts revealed:

The depth at guard for Miami is a problem.

Smith has been dealing with injuries since coming to Miami. He had an ACL injury in 2023 and an Achilles injury in 2024. And to be fair, she showed flashes last year as a decent rotational guard in the 14 games he did play, shooting 53% from three last season.

But just like JJJ, Smith is not a playmaker. Thus, the looming question lingering over the Heat is, who will step up to fill that role?

Mitchell is probably the best option for opening night, and the rookie Kasparas Jakučionis did show flashes on Wednesday in his preseason debut of being a viable playmaker.

But beyond that...

Based on Wednesday, we would expect Jakučionis to get a deeper look. But Wednesday also confirmed Miami's options are few and far between.

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