It's opening night for the Miami Heat as they kickoff the 2023-24 season as they're facing the Detroit Pistons at the Kaseya Center. Head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke to the media before tip-off and talked about rotations, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, and the Pistons' young, talented guard Cade Cunningham.

The injury report hasn't changed since yesterday as the Heat will be without Josh Richardson and Haywood Highsmith, both who are looking to make a big impact on the team this season. They'll have to wait until they get healthy, but for Spoelstra, he believes that the team is deeper than it was last go-around.

“We have a lot of depth actually this year in those positions,” Spoelstra said Wednesday before the game. “You know, we feel like we have enough guys to play and fill in and if you ask the guys that are going to get that opportunity tonight, they will definitely say we have enough. It'll probably be a little bit of a bigger rotation than typical but it's also the beginning of the year.”

Unfair criticisms on Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry, Miami Heat

Another storyline before the season started was about the point guard spot for the Heat and how thin it has been as the room consists of Kyle Lowry, an injured Richardson, and Dru Smith. The last one named was just signed to a standard contract not too long ago.

While it's been seen as a problem for the Heat, Spoelstra puts a lot of trust in Lowry to run the offense and impact the game based on his history in the NBA.

“Kyle is in a great place, we're talking about a highly decorated proven all star at that position for so many years. He was dealing with some some injuries last year and so I think probably the bad evaluations from the outside are from those three or four months during the regular season and that just wasn't fair,” Spoelstra said. “He played his best basketball when it mattered most, especially late in the postseason. When he's healthy, which he is right now, he's going to find a way to impact the game and do all the stuff that I've admired about him for for so many years.”

Cade Cunningham is a standout

As the Heat take on the Pistons tonight in the opener, the focus will and should be on point guard Cade Cunningham who's shown that he can be a playmaker. Spoelstra noticed him during a previous scrimmage and said that despite his age, he's wise above years.

“He was good at that first scrimmage, was really good. That's what you expect, when you're a number one draft pick, you have size that's unique, you have the full skill set, the vision, the handle, shooting, the way he plays the game offensively. It belies the years and his experiences,” Spoelstra said. “He comes across as a guy that's much more experienced, because he's reading backline of defenses. I always look at guards to see if they're doing that and then how long does it take to develop that? When young guys aren't doing that early on, that's different.”

It's simple for Spoelstra, he told ClutchPoints that the goal is “to play well and get a win.” The Heat look to go 1-0 before a brutal three-game road stand as they open the season tonight vs. the Pistons.