MIAMI — Perhaps it was played for real simply because there now are four days off before Wednesday night’s season opener in Orlando. Or perhaps it was because the Miami Heat entered 0-5 this preseason.
So there in the starting lineup Friday night were five players who well could be in the starting lineup for Erik Spoelstra when it begins for real against the Magic.
It might not have been a dress rehearsal, but it was far from a typical throwaway game at the end of the preseason.
Didn’t matter.
For only the second time in the franchise’s 38 seasons, the Heat wound up winless in a preseason, falling 141-125 to the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center. The only other time the Heat had a winless preseason was when they went 0-7 in 2007, ahead of a 15-67 season.
Nonetheless, several for the Heat had their moments, including Bam Adebayo, with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists; Norman Powell with 23 points and six assists; and Kel’el Ware with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Adebayo and Mitchell departed for the night at the end of the third quarter, when the Heat led 103-102.
“Could we have stopped the game after the third quarter?” Spoelstra asked rhetorically afterward. “There were some things I was looking to see from this game, and we saw a lot of ’em.”
He added, “We’re not going to focus on what the record was in the preseason.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s night’s exhibition:
1. For real: With the Heat entering winless, Spoelstra veered from the typical end-of-roster approach to the exhibition finale, starting Adebayo, Ware, Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.
That had been the Heat’s opening lineup Monday in Atlanta, with the exception of Mitchell this time starting over Dru Smith. Smith then entered midway through the opening period when Mitchell was called for his second foul.
The Heat on Friday remained without Tyler Herro (ankle), Nikola Jovic (back) and Kasparas Jakucionis (hip).
2. Power rotation: The question now is whether Jovic will be worked back into the starting lineup for the season opener, or whether it will remain Adebayo-Ware.
At various times in Friday night’s first half, the Heat had Adebayo, Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio at power forward.
Rounding out the starters in the first half rotation were, in order, Smith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson and Fontecchio.
3. Powell play: Powell continued to respond as a needed source of offense in the absence of Herro, this time up to 20 points within the opening minutes of the second half.
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Friday night’s performance came in the wake of Powell scoring 18, 18 and 17 in his previous three appearances, with none of those appearances of more than 28 minutes. This time he went just 18.
“I think he’s played really well right now,” Spoelstra said of his team’s prime offseason addition. “He’s comfortable in what we’re trying to do. He’s adding for sure to what we’re doing and he’s been great in the practices, too.”
4. Rozier returns: Friday marked Terry Rozier’s preseason debut, after being sidelined since training camp with a hamstring strain. He entered with 5:56 left in the third period, when Mitchell was called for his fifth foul.
Rozier went 11 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-4 shooting.
Next to be seen is whether in the absence of Herro there could be minutes in the opening rotation.
“He put in a lot of work this summer,” Spoelstra said pregame. “The last two weeks have probably been a bummer for him, because of all that time that he put in and he was playing well, he was in great shape. But all that work doesn’t go away. So he was able to ramp up the last few days.”
“I think his mind is clear. He gives you that scoring punch, the toughness. And I think those will be on display since he’s healthy.’”
5. Up next: The Heat now take a four-day break before Wednesday night’s season opener at Orlando’s Kia Center to begin their 38th season.
The Heat will not return to Kaseya Center until facing the New York Knicks on Oct 26 in their home opener.
