For the heat, the preseason without a win, but with doubts

Six games, six defeats. A troubling result for some Miami fans, especially days before the regular season opener on Oct. 22 against the Magic. But after this sixth failure against the Grizzlies (141-125), Erik Spoelstra he remains calm, and this grade does not mean much to him.

“There were certain things that I wanted to see in this match, and I saw a lot of them, especially with the starters, but also in certain rotational minutes, with the substitutes. We will continue on that. We will not focus on the results of the preseason.”, explained the new USA coach.

Among the positives is the new big release from Norman Powellwho still justifies his arrival with 23 points on 8/13 shooting (including 3/6 from three), along with 6 assists. Bam Adebayo also had a solid performance with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 decisive assists, while Kel’el Warestarted instead of Nikola Jović, he had a double-double (20 points, 14 rebounds).

What starting five?

Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins only played ten minutes each, but Erik Spoelstra stood out “seeing what he wanted to see” in their limited sequences.

We will focus on certain aspects that reflect the way we want to play. Erik Spoelstra continued. “Defensively, we’ve talked about it a lot. We have to do better rebounding, and that will be key from the first game. Orlando will be aggressive on the rebound, that’s for sure, and we’ll have to be present on the rebound at all five positions.”

A few days before this first matchup, the Heat’s top five remains unclear. With Tyler Hero in the infirmary and Nikola Jovic having just returned to training, only three elements seem certain to start: Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell.

Erik Spoelstra remains torn between Davion Mitchell and Drew Smith for the starting point guard position, and Kel’el Ware could follow Bam Adebayo if Nikola Jovic isn’t given the green light by Wednesday.

Davion Mitchell, returning from a calf injury, started a few games in the preseason, but Drew Smith was often the first off the bench to accompany the starters. “It doesn’t matter if I start or not”Davion Mitchell replied. “I already got the spark off the bench last year, and I can do it again.” For Erik Spoelstra, Davion Mitchell is more valuable as a 6th man, so he could opt for Drew Smith.