The Miami Heat played with pace, but will it last?

Ethan J. Skolnick | Oct 5, 2025

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

You'd think, on a night with many of their regular guards missing, that the Miami Heat might slow things a bit in their preseason opener.

They didn't.

Instead, their pace was quite a bit quicker than it typically was last season, giving some hope that they will stick to their stated strategy this season, and what their players say is their preference. (Even as coach Erik Spoelstra has jokingly called his players full of, well, bleep).

Pace isn't just about fast breaks; this Heat roster, even when whole, doesn't have a lot of elite athletes. It's about getting into actions quicker, making decisions without the ball sticking. It's more of a European style, which makes sense considering the unusual European bent of the roster, and also Spoelstra's recent experience in the international game as a Team USA assistant.

Jovic going coast to coast pic.twitter.com/Ev3CHVnodM

— Heat Clips 🎬 (@MiamiClip) October 5, 2025

This play style will all work well when rookie Kasparas Jakucionis is ready; he's nursing a minor injury. While he isn't likely to get many minutes early in the season, you can see the trend and how it may benefit him. The Heat haven't had a point guard with his vision, maybe ever, and now Jakucionis has Goran Dragic as a mentor.

The trick for Spoelstra, other than getting his players to stay with their spiked effort, will be to blend lineups with his more defensive-minded ones. The remarkable return of Dru Smith from another traumatic injury, this time an Achilles tendon tear, gives Spoelstra the chance to run out stingy units also including Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo. But some of those units may not have the overall spacing and speed as the more offensive-minded groups.

We will see if the trend continues when the Heat continue their preseason, Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks at home.

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