Inside The Heat

Three ways the Miami Heat could surprise early in season

Ethan J. Skolnick|
Jan 27, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) celebrates after scoring against the Orlando Magic during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Jan 27, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) celebrates after scoring against the Orlando Magic during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

Expectations are muted for the Miami Heat entering 2025-26 training camp in Boca Raton, now even moreso following Tyler Herro's ankle surgery that will keep the leading scorer on the sidelines.

Still, there's some reason for optimism, even as the Heat's early schedule is daunting and the last time we saw the Heat in competition, they didn't compete -- losing their final two playoff games by a combined 92 points to Cleveland.

Here are three factors to watch once camp opens:

1. How quickly does Norman Powell assimilate?

Norman Powell now must energize the Miami Heat
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With Herro out, Powell will likely be the Heat's primary offensive engine in the backcourt, but deployed differently than Herro is. Powell's on-court chemistry, particularly with Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell, will matter, since he's an assassin off the catch provided the passes are crisp.

2. Is there a summer carryover for Miami's young players?

Kel'el Ware and Pelle Larsson
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Heat's summer league team didn't show much, but Pelle Larsson did. Then the Heat's 2024 second round pick led Sweden to the knockout stage in EuroBasket, while Nikola Jovic was arguably Serbia's second-best player behind Nikola Jokic. If they have both improved as much as it appears, and Kel'el Ware got the message from Erik Spoelstra to improve his professionalism, those three players could really round out the rotation.

3. Is the defensive commitment back?

Davion Mitchell
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There's only one real plus to Herro's absence: it gets another defender in the starting lineup. That's Mitchell, who was re-signed for two seasons. Mitchell, with Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins, could make the starting group tougher to score against. And Miami will need that as it tries to find enough buckets until Herro returns. Some of those 97-94 scores will be welcome.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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