Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 120-104 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday night night at Kia Center to drop to 0-4 this preseason. The Heat will complete its preseason back-to-back set and play its fifth of six exhibitions on Monday against the Hawks in Atlanta (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV):
On the front end of a preseason back-to-back, the Heat gave some of its top players the night off against a team that it will see again very soon in a game that counts.
Already entering Sunday’s exhibition without Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Nikola Jovic (lower back pain) and Terry Rozier (strained left hamstring), the Heat also gave the night off to starters Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins.
It marked the first game that Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins have missed this preseason after playing in the first three exhibitions.
The Heat also held out Simone Fontecchio and Dru Smith against the Magic. Fontecchio was available after missing the previous two preseason games with a leg injury, but did not play on Sunday.
With those eight players missing, the Heat went with a starting lineup of Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Keshad Johnson and Kel’el Ware.
The Heat then turned to the back end of its 21-man preseason roster to use Kasparas Jakucionis, Myron Gardner, Ethan Thompson, Precious Achiuwa and Jahmir Young off the bench in Sunday’s first half.
Jaquez and Mitchell were then given the second half off, as Young and Gardner began the second half in their place.
Jaquez finished Sunday’s exhibition with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line and two assists in 15 first-half minutes.
The Magic also were without some of its regulars on Sunday, as Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner didn’t play against the Heat.
With those four players unavailable, the Magic started Tyus Jones, Tristan da Silva, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr. in Sunday’s exhibition.
The decision to hold out some regulars on Sunday could be a product of the fact that the Heat and Magic open the regular season against each other in Orlando on Oct. 22.
“Everybody is just trying to get ready and it’s the middle of the preseason right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked whether the regular-season opener against the Magic was a factor in his decision to sit some players on Sunday. “So I think it’s more finding out who’s available, who needs to take a day more than trying to hide your cards. That’s just kind of the reality of the preseason in the National Basketball Association.”
While the Heat was without a chunk of its roster, Mitchell did play in his first preseason game of the year on Sunday.
Mitchell started but played limited minutes against the Magic after missing the Heat’s first three preseason games because of calf soreness.
Mitchell finished Sunday’s exhibition with two points on two made free throws and two assists in 10 first-half minutes. He was given the second half off.
“He had some great moments going down the stretch for us [last season], he has that competitive spirit that we like,” Spoelstra said of Mitchell. “So it’s good to have him back.”
With Herro sidelined for at least the first month of the regular season, Mitchell is among the Heat’s top candidates to begin the regular season as Powell’s partner in the starting backcourt.
Mitchell, who re-signed with the Heat on a two-year contract worth $24 million in free agency this past offseason, was dealt to Miami as part of the Jimmy Butler trade midway through last season. Mitchell averaged 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 44.7% on 3.1 three-point attempts per game in 30 regular-season appearances (15 starts) with the Heat last season following the trade.
Mitchell’s efficient outside shooting with the Heat proved to be a revelation, as he entered last season as a 32.7 percent three-point shooter over his first three NBA seasons.
But Mitchell’s calling card is still his on-ball defense. Known as “Off Night” for his ability to shut down opposing teams’ top scorers, Mitchell’s point-of-attack defense immediately helped the Heat and made him a fan favorite in Miami.
The Heat allowed 3.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with Mitchell on the court compared to when he wasn’t playing last regular season after the February trade.
Mitchell, 27, hopes his second season with the Heat is even better.
Ware took advantage of the opportunity to play a bigger role for the short-handed Heat, putting together a quality preseason performance for the second straight game.
After totaling 29 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in Wednesday’s preseason loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Ware followed that up with another dominant stat line on Sunday.
Ware, who is entering his second NBA season, finished Sunday’s exhibition with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range and 4-of-4 shooting from the foul line, 10 rebounds, one assist and two steals in 25 minutes while playing in a starting role for the undermanned Heat. He was held out of the fourth quarter.
Ware was especially impressive in Sunday’s first half, recording 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 1-of-1 shooting from the foul line, seven rebounds and two steals in 16 first-half minutes.
The only other Heat players to finish with double-digit points on Sunday were Young (18 points), Larsson (14 points) and Gardner (11 points).
Since Spoelstra challenged Ware “to impact the game” after he posted a rough plus/minus of minus 21 in last Monday’s preseason loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the 21-year-old’s on-court response has been encouraging.
“I’m encouraged by it,” Spoelstra said of Ware’s performance on Sunday. “Look, everybody has so much attention on him and what I’m going to say about him. He’s getting better. You can see the talent.”
But even after Ware’s back-to-back standout preseason displays, he appears to be on track to begin the regular season in a reserve role despite ending last season as a Heat starter and one of the league’s best rookies. Adebayo and Ware, who closed last season as Miami’s starting frontcourt, have yet to play together through the first four preseason games.
Jakucionis left Sunday’s preseason game early with an injury.
The Heat’s 19-year-old rookie played just four minutes against the Magic before exiting the contest late in the first quarter with right hip soreness. He totaled two points on two made free throws and dished out one assist before leaving the game.
“I’m not sure,” Spoelstra said when asked about the severity of Jakucionis’ injury. “We’ll find out. He just goes so hard that things can happen. But it’s too early to tell right now.”
Jakucionis said following Sunday’s exhibition that “we talked and we decided it’s better not to make it worse. So, I stepped out.”
Jakucionis has still played in just one full exhibition game through the Heat’s first four preseason contests. He missed the first three exhibitions because of a sprained left wrist.
But the one complete preseason game that Jakucionis did play in was impressive.
Jakucionis, who the Heat selected with the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, recorded eight points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting from three-point range while dishing out 10 assists to only three turnovers in 25 minutes in his first NBA preseason game on Wednesday against the Spurs.
With the Heat back at it on Monday in Atlanta, some regulars who missed Sunday’s game are expected to return to play on the back end of the preseason back-to-back.
Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins were never going to play both ends of the preseason back-to-back. So with the trio missing Sunday’s exhibition, the expectation is they will play on Monday against the Hawks.
Fontecchio and Smith are also expected to play in Atlanta after getting the night off on Sunday.
“We had a really tough practice yesterday,” Spoelstra said when asked about opting to sit some of the regulars on Sunday. “I was prioritizing that, and I knew I’d play them one of the games. So I figured they would just get some individual work today, and they’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
However, the Heat will still be without Herro, Jovic and Rozier in Atlanta.
After Monday’s contest, the Heat will return to Miami to finish its preseason. Miami will hold its annual Red, White & Pink Game intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday at Kaseya Center before closing its six-game preseason schedule on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center.
