{"id":421563,"date":"2026-10-07T21:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T21:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/421563\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T21:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T21:22:09","slug":"erik-spoelstra-explains-miami-heat-preseason-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/421563\/","title":{"rendered":"Erik Spoelstra explains Miami Heat preseason planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2014 Considering 40% of the starting lineup is new, as is 50% of the primary rotation, Erik Spoelstra said it is not as if he can afford to take a halfway approach to the Miami Heat\u2019s five-game preseason schedule.<\/p>\n

So, yes, the Heat coach said, more of the regulars in Thursday night\u2019s preseason home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans at Kaseya Center.<\/p>\n

Such is part of the process of integrating Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, Klay Thompson, Bobby Portis and Tim Hardaway Jr. into the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a plan for tomorrow and we\u2019ll continue to build that as the preseason goes,\u201d Spoelstra said after Wednesday\u2019s practice at Kaseya Center. \u201cI have a loose plan right now, depending on the practices and the availability of everybody. But I like the progress the group is making so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

But no, it does not guarantee all will play all exhibitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be doubtful, but we know we have some work to do,\u201d Spoelstra said, with the Heat\u2019s preseason schedule continuing Saturday against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, next Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets and then concluding Oct. 16 on the road against the Orlando Magic. The Heat opened their preseason schedule with Saturday\u2019s 129-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors.<\/p>\n

As far as what comes next, that is where it could get interesting, with the Heat also to open their regular-season schedule against the Timberwolves on Oct. 21 at Kaseya Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not even that far ahead right now,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cI\u2019m just focusing on tomorrow. A lot of our guys will play tomorrow and want to get something out of it, not going to play huge minutes, but want to get those game reps.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys are in great shape right now and still it\u2019s different than getting out there and competing in an NBA game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of Spoelstra\u2019s primary options should be available against the Pelicans. Andrew Wiggins, who missed Tuesday night\u2019s intrasquad scrimmage<\/a> due to illness, was back on the practice court Wednesday. Out for the practice session was Pelle Larsson, who also missed the scrimmage due to illness.<\/p>\n

In addition, Keshad Johnson, who sustained a hamstring injury during last week\u2019s training camp at Florida Atlantic University, did some light work Wednesday, while Dru Smith, who is out with a calf injury, remained sidelined.<\/p>\n

Spoelstra said with the majority of newcomers being polished veterans, it has eased the acclimation process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend the group, especially the new guys, for being open-minded,\u201d he said. \u201cThings might be a little bit different, but it\u2019s not as different as people make it sound to be. They have enough things that are what they\u2019re used to. We have to move quickly. It helps having veteran players pick up things pretty fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The end game<\/p>\n

Spoelstra acknowledged that the most difficult element in assessing with a revised roster is how it comes together in clutch time. But he also said this is not a time to get bogged down in end-game planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we\u2019re going to try to keep it simple and have a lot of clarity,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully, it leads to some confidence when the pressure is on. There\u2019s no way to prepare for it, fast-track it, have the best plan that never goes according to plan. We just got to go through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see what those games are like and how many of them are clutch games and how many of them aren\u2019t. Either way, we\u2019ve got to try to find solutions to try to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching respect<\/p>\n

Thursday night\u2019s matchup comes against a coach who went undefeated last season against the Heat.<\/p>\n

Despite that 5-0 record against Spoelstra\u2019s team in 2025-26, Jamahl Mosley was dismissed as Orlando Magic coach at the end of last season, but has since been named to take over in New Orleans. He was replaced in Orlando by San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney.<\/p>\n

To Spoelstra, it was a matter of another opponent giving up too soon on a coaching peer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of respect for what Mose did in Orlando,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThat\u2019s not easy to do. He should get a lot of credit for establishing a culture there, a defensive mindset for the organization. And they got better every single year. That\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for out of an organization. Not to take away anything from the change they\u2019ve made, which they\u2019re all excited about, but it felt like Mose had established something there enough to keep on going. That\u2019s the nature of this league.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe landed on his feet in a situation that I think is similar to where Orlando was before. So he knows what type of blueprint to put together. I think he\u2019ll do a great job there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2014 Considering 40% of the starting lineup is new, as is 50% of the primary rotation, Erik…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[114,123,125,2490,124,2295,110],"class_list":["post-421563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-heat","tag-miami-news","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}