Key Cog Emerges for Heat in Giannis-Less Final Preseason Tune-up

The Giannis-less Miami Heat dropped their final preseason game tonight to the Orlando Magic who played their starters deep into the second half. It was a competitive game for the most part. Here are my five takeaways from tonight’s game and what we learned.

Davion Mitchell

He is going to be one of the most important cogs to the Heat machine this season. He or Giannis Antetokounmpo must always be on the floor. When the game began the Heat pace was just as fast and furious as when Giannis and Bam Adebayo were in the lineup. It lacked spectacular feats but still high octane.

Davion played for 15 minutes and scored 7 points and had 5 assists. Those aren’t jaw dropping numbers, but it was evident watching the game he is one of the straws that stirs the drink. The game flowed with pace, and he was constantly getting two feet in the paint forcing defensive rotations.

Ryan Conwell, Jr.

The rookie himself had a great ball game. You can see that he is getting more comfortable getting to his spots. He finished the game with 21 points, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 rebound. He looks extremely comfortable playing off the ball.

That is his best role in my opinion even though he had a handful of self-creation buckets tonight. The shooting splits of 52.9/42.9 are a sign of things to come for the young rookie.

Klay Thompson

He went 0 for the century tonight. He has shot the ball miserably all preseason long. He has shown the capability of still playing solid defense and making good decisions. The shooting will come around but the question is how long it will take to bust this slump for one of the best shooters in NBA history. Thompson shot 38 percent from three-point range on nearly eight attempts per game last season, so you'd figure he will progress to the mean. You'd hope, anyway.

Oct 8, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

2nd unit

The biggest weakness of this year’s Heat will be the ball handling of the second unit. It was terrible tonight when Davion wasn’t on the floor. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Andrew Wiggins are capable of limited ball handling and using their size and savvy to get into mid-range pull up jumpers but that is about it.

Ryan as mentioned above is best suited off the ball and it showed in tonight’s game where he was tasked to create. Tre Donaldson, who is on a two way for the Heat may see minutes for stretches if there is ever an injury to Davion. That is unless they go get a veteran guard later in the season.

Oct 16, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Nick Richards (8) is fouled by Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Big Man Depth

Miami for the first time in a long time has some nice depth. They were without Bam and Giannis and still hung tough on the boards thanks to Nick Richards, Bobby Portis and Niko Jovic.

The Heat were only out rebounded by 8 as a team tonight 56-64 and kept it close with 44-50 points in the paint.

Questions remain about Nick Richards contract since it is non-guaranteed. I think their best move is to keep him. He had another game with 11 rebounds and 3 assists tonight. He is fitting in just fine.

The next time we will see the Heat they tip it up for real in the regular season Wednesday, October 21st against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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