What the Miami Heat can get out of games against tanking teams

As the schedule weakens, what can be prioritized against the likes of Utah?

Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) celebrates a play against the Washington Wizards with forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat took care of business a day ago in Washington, as they routed the Wizards on their home floor on the first game of a back to back.

One day later they head back home to Miami, as the Utah Jazz come to town. Going from the 14th seed in the East to the 13th seed in the West may seem easy, but games like these should never be taken for granted.

A Heat win is never a sure thing when eyeing down this team's overall inconsistencies this season, but there's still an opportunity here to lean into some more important things.

That Wizards game is the perfect example. They leaned into their youth of Kel'el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis in a speedy game, and it paid off as both guys had huge nights.

Kel’el Ware today:

19 points and 14 rebounds

Kasparas Jakucionis today:

22 points and 6 threes

Time for the youth movement

— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) February 8, 2026

Looking at the Heat's upcoming schedule, it would appear games like that could be approaching at a rapid rate.

Five out of six games are against teams that aren't even in the play-in tournament, and all six are against teams lower than a top 8 seed.

It's not just that you are facing a team with a bad record, it's that you are facing a team that is trying to acquire an even worse record. Most of these teams are in a race for top picks in the upcoming NBA draft, which means a Monday night win in Miami isn't doing them much justice.

So on nights like this for the Heat, I believe there should be one overarching theme: answering any lingering questions.

What I mean by that is within a season like this, you do not want to head into another off-season where there are things you still feel are unanswered.

If the Bam Adebayo-Kel'el Ware pairing still has some question marks, lean into it. If Kasparas Jakucionis as the actual point guard with on-ball reps has still yet to be seen, lean into it. If other odd combinations haven't been tapped into, lean into it.

This final stretch of the year should be all about leaving everything on the table, so that when the off-season does come around, the decisions about this roster can be made much easier.

Erik Spoelstra has been known to experiment in different parts of the year in the past, and with the schedule getting easier and the young guys ready to play, it would seem that time is now.