The single most important thing for the Heat against the Hawks

The Miami Heat's rotation tonight against the Hawks will look quite different than the one that suited up on February 3rd at home earlier this month.

They were without guys like Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Andrew Wiggins in a loss to Atlanta, but now coming off a long and needed All Star break, the team appears to be back healthy.

Erik Spoelstra said it’s trending toward Tyler Herro being available tonight. Full Heat roster went through shootaround today in Atlanta.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) February 20, 2026

The lineups and substitution patterns should hold a lot of weight in how this game plays out, since it's never an easy task for Erik Spoelstra to toggle between healthy options on that bench.

But there is one main overarching thing that the Heat need to prioritize tonight, and it actually has nothing to do with the offensive end of the floor.

As the team gets more guys back, it obviously makes us want to discuss some offense. What does Tyler Herro and Norman Powell next to each other bring to their half-court offense? Does Andrew Wiggins fall back into his ideal offensive role? Will Jaime Jaquez Jr get the same usage as he's been?

Those are all valid questions, but I just don't worry as much about Miami figuring out how to score during different pockets of the game. What I do worry about when healthy is Miami finding their same rhythm on the defensive end.

When a guy like Herro returns, that could possibly mean a starting demotion for a guy like Davion Mitchell, who has been an important piece for the team's point of attack defense.

That puts a lot more pressure on Bam Adebayo on the back-side of the defense, while Kel'el Ware most likely won't be starting next to him to help out on the glass.

Even after a very inconsistent opening 56 games, Miami still finds themselves 4th in defensive rating this season, as they've generally done a good job balancing their man to man principles with a tiny mix of some zone.

With two offensive killers in Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum standing on the other side tonight, it's not just about matching their productivity, it's about slowing those guys down.

Johnson is the type of archetype that gives Miami trouble. A walking mismatch, finds a way to get two feet in the paint consistently, and can play-make and sniff out eager help defense.

The overall theme tonight is this: Herro will make some floaters, Powell will make some threes, Jaquez Jr will create some productive drives. But if they don't defend, none of that matters.

Erik Spoelstra isn't scheming up a rotation of offensive firepower. It's about finding the right balance of consistent defense across this 48 minute game.