The Heat's starting lineup, whatever it is, is not the problem

It's tradition for fans to obsess about the five who take the floor at the start.

Which players are introduced? Which players get a chance to set the tone?

The Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra, however, have placed much more emphasis on which players tend to finish games, especially the close, clutch ones. Spoelstra likes to have seven or so players he can trust, and that's what the front office tries to provide. Sometimes it's based on who has it going, and who doesn't, during the course of the contest. Sometimes it's strictly matchup related.

Still, though, most of the discussion is about the starters, and much of the consternation from Heat fans has been related to whether Kel'el Ware is starting at center, moving Bam Adebayo to power forward. Spoelstra has used that look some, but hasn't seemed to really like the results, especially on defense, where it should be strong. He recently called the group, "uneven."

This didn't surprise many who've observed that he has generally preferred to play smaller over the years, with someone such as PJ Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Jae Crowder, Haywood Highsmith, now Andrew Wiggins or another undersized "power forward" next to Adebayo.

Erik Spoelstra on the Big Starting Lineup:

“That starting group is a little bit uneven. We’ve got to continue to work on that. When we play bigger, I just want that group to be a plus. We’ve got some work to do there. It should be a very good defensive group, but that group… pic.twitter.com/BtYcONovGs
— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards) December 6, 2025

It should be said that it's hard to get a real gauge on any Heat starting lineup, when top backcourt scorers Tyler Herro and Norman Powell have basically been switching off games of late, and now Herro is out again -- we will see if he plays in Tuesday's NBA Cup matchup in Orlando as he heals a sore toe.

But this is what's interesting....

It hasn't seemed to matter.

Miami's best quarter this season remains the first quarter, when it is posting a +9.1 net rating. That is sixth in the NBA. The starters tend to play at least half that quarter, with at least one sticking around for the entire thing.

The Heat's issues have been more in the middle of the game.

Miami is just a +0.8 in the second quarter, and a +0.0 in the third quarter, though it should be noted that the starters also "start" that quarter. So maybe they're just not getting into gear during halftime, or the opponents are figuring them out.

The fourth quarter, which matters most, has typically been decent. The Heat are a +4.0, usually closing with the starters -- but again, not always.

The overall point is it's not when Spoelstra is playing certain players, it's how they are playing on that night that is affecting most outcomes.