A potential solution to the Miami Heat's third quarter problems

The theme of the season for the Miami Heat has been inconsistencies.

The theme of many Miami Heat seasons has been trying to figure out the third quarter problems that have repeatedly hurt this team in second halves.

In the first game back from the All Star break on Friday night, the Heat were fully healthy in Atlanta as Tyler Herro made his return from the rib injury.

He made that return off the bench against the Hawks, as Miami's initital nine man rotation looked like one that was pretty strong.

The Heat outscored the Hawks 30-24 in the third quarter, as it wasn't the outcome that produced a potential solution, but the process showcased some positive signs.

What was that process exactly? A balanced rotation with consistent lineups.

They started things off with a first unit that has spent a lot of time with each other so far this season, as Davion Mitchell holds down point guard duties, Norman Powell as the primary scorer, Bam Adebayo as the two-way centerpiece, and Andrew Wiggins and Pelle Larsson scrapping their way into impact territory.

Shortly after that initital stretch, Jaime Jaquez Jr and Kel'el Ware enter for Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo. To cap off the rotation about two minutes later, Tyler Herro and Kasparas Jakucionis enter for Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell.

There just wasn't any real drop-off last night.

If the Heat have a Kasparas Jakucionis-Tyler Herro-Jaime Jaquez Jr-Kel’el Ware bench tonight………

That will be fun
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) February 21, 2026

Sometimes the third quarter problems are plagued with a bad start to the quarter with the bench trying to make up for it. Other times the starters set a tone, but the depleted bench can't find a rhythm to close the quarter.

But with these two sets of lineups, there's just a bit more consistency. Herro and Powell holding down their own offensive lineups is a definitely luxury, but it feels like each unit brings something different.

The first unit leans on stability and veteran presence, while the second unit is driven by the youth and up-tempo, high upside part of the roster.

Yes, it was just a game against the Hawks, so not everything is magically fixed in a one game sample size. But this is a really good step in the right direction to correct some problems that have consistently hurt this team.

Miami also has some games coming up against tanking teams, which makes the lack of a lineup drop-off even more crucial, as those teams don't have the depth to keep up with them if all things break right.