What did we learn about Heat during preseason? And what it all means for regular season

Next up for the Miami Heat: the regular season.

After closing its five-game preseason schedule on Friday with a 2-3 record, the Heat returns to practice on Monday before opening the regular season on Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center.

“Just getting this thing started,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked what he’s most looking forward to on the opening week of the season after getting all the way to the NBA Finals last season. “We have a lot of familiar faces and we have great continuity. But the team feels different. So I’m looking forward to this new challenge and how things will be different, and hopefully better.”

Heat fills final spots on opening night roster by promoting Dru Smith and Cole Swider

Here are 10 takeaways from the Heat’s preseason and what they all could mean for the regular season:

▪ One thing we did not learn enough about during the preseason was the Heat’s opening night rotation because of injuries and other issues that prevented the team from having a true dress rehearsal game for the regular season. Jimmy Butler did not play in any of the five preseason games, Caleb Martin played in just one preseason game, Jaime Jaquez Jr. played in just one preseason game and Josh Richardson played in just two preseason games. Each of those players are either rotation locks or competing for rotation spots.

▪ Even with those players limited, the preseason did provide hints for what the Heat’s opening night starting lineup could look like. It appears the Heat may begin the regular season with a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Butler, Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo. Butler did not play in any preseason games this year but will be ready for opening night and is a lock for the starting unit, and Lowry, Herro, Love and Adebayo started in every preseason game they appeared in.

▪ Butler apparently doesn’t need the preseason. Butler missed each of the Heat’s five preseason games after undergoing multiple dental procedures in recent weeks, meaning his first NBA game since last season ended for the Heat in the NBA Finals on June 12 will come in Wednesday’s regular-season opener. That’s more than four months off from playing on the NBA stage. Butler, 34, is entering his fifth season with the Heat and 13th NBA season. Butler has been selected for an All-NBA team in three of his first four seasons with Miami, leading the Heat to three Eastern Conference finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances during that span. But the Heat has yet to win an NBA championship in the Butler era.

▪ Injuries are again a storyline for the Heat, at least to begin the season. After closing last regular season with the second-most missed games in the NBA (289) due to injury, according to Spotrac, the Heat again ran into injury issues this preseason: Haywood Highsmith (left MCL sprain), Jaquez (strained left groin) and Richardson (sore right foot). Highsmith, who was expected to be part of the opening night rotation, is the only Heat player who has been definitively ruled out for the start of the regular season. The Heat announced Thursday that Highsmith’s injury will be re-evaluated in two weeks. But the availability of Richardson and Jaquez for opening night is also in question.

▪ The Heat is going to rely on Adebayo and Herro take on even bigger offensive roles this season to help lift a unit that posted the league’s sixth-worst offensive rating last regular season. Yes, it’s just the preseason, but Adebayo and Herro were both ultra-aggressive with their own offense during the exhibition schedule. During the preseason, Herro put up 25.4 field-goal attempts per 36 minutes and Adebayo took 23.6 field-goal attempts per 36 minutes. Last regular season, Herro attempted 17.1 field goals per 36 minutes and Adebayo attempted 15.4 field goal per 36 minutes.

▪ After losing two of its biggest three-point weapons in Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency this past summer, the Heat needs to find a way to replace the outside shooting void they left behind. The Heat shot 59 of 180 (32.8 percent) from three-point range this preseason for a three-point percentage that would have ranked second-worst in the NBA last regular season. One of the driving forces behind the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals last season is that it made 38 percent of its threes during the playoffs. In other words, Duncan Robinson will be important this season.

▪ The Heat knows it’s thin at point guard, which is one of the main reasons it promoted guard Dru Smith from a two-way contract to a standard deal. Smith joins Lowry, 37, as the only true point guards on Miami’s standard roster following the departure of Vincent in free agency this past summer. The Heat has also been encouraged by how Smith has fit around the Heat’s best players in practices, enough to feel comfortable to play him spot minutes in the regular season if needed. The 25-year-old Smith went undrafted in 2021 out of Missouri and is on a non-guaranteed two-year contract that includes a $425,000 guarantee on opening night.

▪ Thomas Bryant is on track to be the Heat’s backup center to start the regular season. Bryant, who the Heat signed to a minimum contract in free agency this past summer, played ahead of center Orlando Robinson this preseason as the backup behind Adebayo. The 26-year-old Bryant averaged 9.6 points and five rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game in five appearances this preseason. The Heat also outscored opponents by 2.4 points per 100 possessions with Bryant on the court during that time after opponents outscored the Heat by four points per 100 possessions when Adebayo wasn’t on the court last regular season. The Heat is hoping Bryant can help solidify the non-Adebayo minutes this season.

▪ Nikola Jovic may not be ready for a consistent role yet and that’s OK. Jovic, 20, missed two games because of a knee injury and struggled to find an offensive rhythm this preseason. He shot 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) from the field and 2 of 11 (18.2 percent) from three-point range while dishing out four assists to six turnovers in the three preseason games he played in. While Highsmith’s injury could create playing time for Jovic early in the season, there’s plenty of depth at the forward spot now. The list of rotation-caliber forwards on the Heat’s roster to start the season: Butler, Love, Martin, Highsmith, Jaquez and Jovic. There’s also Jamal Cain, who is on a two-way contract.

▪ R.J. Hampton is an intriguing talent on a two-way contract as a former first-round pick who is hoping time in the Heat’s development program turns him into a rotation-level player. Hampton, 22, has played for three different teams over his first three NBA seasons and was waived by the Detroit Pistons this past summer before joining the Heat on a two-way contract. The Heat is developing Hampton as a point guard and he flashed his upside in Friday’s preseason finale, when he recorded 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting on threes, 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, five assists and one steal in 25 minutes. Two-way contracts allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games but do not come with playoff eligibility.