The Miami Heat are in the middle of a transition period similar to where they were before they brought in Jimmy Butler in 2019. They have enough talent to compete for playoff spot next season, especially in the weaker Eastern Conference, but they can probably forget about mounting a deep playoff run unless they acquire a superstar talent or two within the next few offseasons.
It won't help whatsoever that the Heat will be starting this year without their best scorer and lead guard Tyler Herro; Herro suffered an ankle injury that required surgery, and he'll be out for at least two months as he recovers. This setback has put the Heat on the backfoot, as they will not find it easy to replace the shot-creation and the 24/5/5 that Herro put up in 77 games that netted him his first All-Star Game nod.
The loss of Herro will certainly complicate the Heat's rotation plans and will serve to make position battles in training camp that much more heated. At this point, it looks like only three players are guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup, which means that two players will have to earn their keep for head coach Erik Spoelstra to entrust them with the lion's share of minutes in their respective positions.
Before going into which players might be in danger of losing a starting spot, let us first take a look at the Heat's projected starting lineup for the 2025-26 campaign.
Heat have three starting spots secured
For every single game, and as long as he's available, Bam Adebayo will be the first name on Coach Spo's starting lineup sheet. Adebayo is one of the best big men in the NBA, and he's a defensive juggernaut who's been trying to expand his offensive game over the past few years. He is not moving out of the starting lineup, and he's not going to be complacent anyway to a point where the Heat would ever go away from him.
Andrew Wiggins is the next guaranteed starter for the Heat; he is a prototypical 3-and-D wing, and they're going to need his shot-creation abilities to maintain a respectable offense amid the absence of Herro. Wiggins put up 19 points a night in 17 games with the Heat following his arrival from the Golden State Warriors last year, and he'll once again be expected to be a fixture in the Heat's lineup.
One would think that Norman Powell will also be a guaranteed starter for the Heat, provided that he remains healthy. Powell played so well last season that he was in All-Star conversations before he failed to make it to the team in the end.
He did tail off for the Los Angeles Clippers to end last season, but this man averaged 22 points per game last year on 48/42/80 shooting splits when called upon to fill a bigger role with the departure of Paul George. The Heat got him in a bargain of a deal, and Powell will also be raring to play well considering that he's in a contract year.
This leaves one spot open in both the frontcourt and backcourt; the favorites to fill those positions, one would think, will be Kel'el Ware and Davion Mitchell, respectively. But they will have to put up good performances in training camp to do so.
Davion Mitchell to hold the fort amid Herro's injury?
At this point, it certainly looks like Mitchell will be the one to replace Herro in the starting lineup while he recovers from injury. Mitchell certainly impressed after the Heat acquired him as part of the Butler trade. It looks like his game was tailor-made for the Heat's gritty style of basketball, and he played well on offense as well, averaging 10.3 points on 50/45/70 shooting splits in 30 games (15 starts) for Miami to end the year.
In the playoffs, Coach Spo relied on Mitchell to start three of their four games against the powerhouse Cleveland Cavaliers team that swept them and he played incredibly well, putting up 15 points per game on blistering shooting percentages of 61 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
There is no way that the 2025 version of Mitchell that's much improved in South Beach will be overlooked in favor of a washed-up Terry Rozier who's involved in a federal investigation regarding unusual betting patterns. Kasparas Jakucionis doesn't seem to be anywhere close to being ready to start for a team with winning aspirations.
Nonetheless, crazier things have happened in the past. Rozier could bounce back; he's only 31 and he's playing for his next NBA contract. The Heat could also showcase Rozier to try and bump up his trade value.
But at the end of the day, Mitchell's spot in the starting lineup appears to be much safer than that of Ware's.
Kel'el Ware and Miami's many options at the four
To end last year, Ware had earned the trust of Coach Spo, as he started in all but two of the 38 games he played to end last year. He became a nightly double-double threat and freed up Adebayo to become more of a perimeter roamer and an all-around defensive sweeper, a role that Adebayo is certainly equipped for.
But with Herro out, the Heat need a ton of shot-creation on the perimeter. The Heat were already offensively challenged enough as it is with Herro playing 77 games last year, as they ended last year with the 21st best offense in the NBA (according to offensive rating).
Ware is more of a play finisher than a creator, and the Heat may opt for a more versatile option than him to start the year. Perhaps someone like Nikola Jovic, who can make plays off the bounce, impresses as a glue guy at the four. Or maybe the Heat would value the all-around game of Jaime Jaquez Jr., opting to go small instead of starting the big frontcourt duo of Ware and Adebayo.
Make no mistake about it, Ware is going to be a big part of the Heat's future. But Miami's lineup needs at the present may relegate him to a smaller role, at least to begin the season.
