Heat again down five guards for home preseason opener; Fontecchio also out

MIAMI — The Miami Heat’s glut of guards continues to be something far less.

Having missed Saturday’s preseason-opening loss to the Orlando Magic in Puerto Rico, Tyler Herro, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Terry Rozier and first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis again were ruled out for Monday night’s home exhibition opener against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center.

in addition, the Heat at midday Monday listed forward Simone Fontecchio as out against the Bucks, due to a tightness in his lower left leg.

Fontecchio, acquired in the offseason from the Detroit Pistons in the trade that sent out Duncan Robinson, played 20:50 in Saturday’s 126-118 loss to the Magic, closing with nine points, three rebounds and two assists.

As for the sidlelined guards, the Heat entered training camp forecasting that Herro likely would miss the first four weeks of the regular season, following ankle surgery last month, with Herro expressing hope of beating that timetable.

Then, ahead of the start of camp, the team announced that Larsson still was dealing with a bruised left quadriceps sustained last month while playing for Sweden at EuroBasket.

From there, Mitchell (calf soreness), Rozier (hamstring) and Jakucionis (wrist) were sidelined during last week’s camp at Florida Atlantic University.

None of the five sidelined guards traveled for Saturday’s loss in San Juan.

Teams are not required to file injury reports during the preseason, leaving the timelines unclear with Larsson, Mitchell, Rozier, Jakucionis and Fontecchio.

The Heat’s six-game preseason schedule continues with Wednesday night’s home matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Heat open the franchise’s 38th season on Oct. 22 against the Magic at Kia Center.

The Heat continue with the NBA offseason maximum of 21 players under contract in camp. Teams must cut no more than 15 players under standard contract and no more than three under two-way contract by Oct. 20, the day before the NBA season opens.

Suite upgrades

The Heat on Monday announced the completion of a $14 million suite-level renovation at Kaseya Center.

The upgrade follows the 2023 and 2024 offseason overhauls of the scoreboard, sound system, arena lighting and premium seating.

In a statement, Heat President Eric Woolworth said, “This project is another testament to the Arison family’s decades-long commitment of reinvesting in Kaseya Center ensuring it remains a competitive, efficient and award-winning facility at the center of our ever-evolving arts and entertainment district.”

In addition, the Heat announced Monday the addition of additional premium center-court seats near the floor for the coming season. Details available by calling 786-777-4399 or visiting Heat.com/Premium.

After the extension

A week after receiving a four-year, $62.4 million extension, forward Nikola Jovic joked it might be time to table the talk.

Of the back-and-forth with center Bam Adebayo, Jovic said, “I think Bam congratulated me like 15 times. So I’m a little bit tired of him right now.”

Mostly, teammates expressed pride in the growth shown by Jovic from 18-year-old rookie in 2022-23.

“I’m super happy for him,” forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “I’ve been seeing this guy since he was a little, little kid, man, back when he was 20, or 19, seeing him grow and finally become a big guy. He got in the league earlier, but I still felt like he was like my rookie coming into the league. So it was good to see, good to see him growing up.”

The extension begins in 2026-27.

“I’ll get the feeling once the checks start to get in,” Jovic said. “I think the most important thing, not just for me but everybody, I feel is stay humble and know where you came from and what you did to get to this point. And that’s what I’m trying to do, do my best, be the same guy, same guy who’s going to help everyone just improve and be happy to do what he loves to do.”

Heat again down five guards for home preseason opener; Fontecchio also out

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