The Miami Heat are getting closer and closer to fully healthy, as Kasparas Jakucionis and Pelle Larsson suited up for the first time this pre-season.
Dru Smith got the start over Jaime Jaquez Jr in this one, which just made a whole lot more sense for rotational balance. That change catapulted the second unit into an extremely strong showing.
So, here were the three biggest takeaways from this one:
Oct 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) looks to shoot as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
There’s not many times that defense is a primary takeaway from a preseason game, but that’s just how much Bam Adebayo jumped out to start this game. All eyes always remain on Victor Wembanyama when he touches the floor, so Adebayo wasn’t taking the match-up lightly. An early offensive foul forced while fighting for position, some really good one-on-one contests, and just great overall defense. It’s not often that teams aren’t worried about sending a double at Wemby, but Adebayo changes that. He’s talked heading into the season about wanting his defensive respect when it comes to accolades, and a good start is against the guy who has a lot of awards coming his way.
Oct 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis (25) looks to pass the ball as San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) defends in the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
As Kasparas Jakucionis was no longer on the injury report on Wednesday night, he was all set for his NBA preseason debut. He initially operated in a second unit with a pretty young and fun group consisting of Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez, Keshad Johnson, and Kel’el Ware. The role for Jakucionis: play his pure point guard game and find the cutters. He did just that without a doubt. He started his stint by jumping the passing lane for a steal and run-out, followed by a pass to the trailing Keshad Johnson on the break. Shortly after, he drove downhill one-on-one, drew a couple extra defenders, and found the cutting Jaquez down the slot for a huge dunk over Wembanyama. Moral of the story: the rookie looked comfortable. His defense was even more surprising, as he had a bunch of good reps sliding his feet and getting stops. Very good initial showing for Jakucionis.
Oct 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Lindy Waters III (43) grabs a rebound as Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) and center Kel’El Ware (7) look on during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Kel’el Ware has been a staple of these takeaway pieces, since well, his name doesn’t stop getting brought up when it comes to Erik Spoelstra trying to push him to maximize his full potential. Either the call-out motivated him to a 14 point and 7 rebound second quarter, or it was the matchup with Wembanyama that always seems to bring it out of him. When Spoelstra asks for him to “impact winning,” it would look a lot like that first half we saw from Ware. Active on the boards, strong defense with extremely good contests, getting loose on the roll for easy dunks, and a couple tough threes that he fired with zero hesitation. This is ultimately why the coaches are on him so hard. It isn’t coming from a place of dislike. It’s that they see these flashes from him, such as the pump-fake and baseline attack into a sky-scraping dunk in the second quarter, where it’s wanted to be seen more often. It appeared that playing next to some of the actual rotation guys elevated his game as well. But the energy from him in this one, will now be the expectation going forward. He sets his own bar.