MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 133-124 loss to the Orlando Magic:

– As the entire league’s focus turned to the potential availability of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Heat was among the teams drawn into the debate.

– Now with the NBA trade deadline a week away, on Feb. 5.

– “We don’t really give it any time,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The veteran players understand that so much of it is just conjecture.”

– But is it also a distraction?

– One would have to wonder after this performance.

– “It’s just a bunch of BS. But it is part of our business,” Spoelstra said pregame of the conjecture. “That’s what we all sign up for. You have to be a professional all the way through.”

– What matters, Spoelstra said, are these games ahead of the deadline.

– “The most important thing is we’re at an opportunity right now,” he said. “With all these games that are in front of us, it’s an opportunity to play well and move up.”

– Or there could be a second-half collapse, as there was in this one.

–  Between now and the deadline, the Heat play at the Bulls on Thursday night, at home against the Bulls on both Saturday and Sunday night, and then against the visiting Hawks on Tuesday night.

– Winnable? Sure.

– But supposedly so was this one.

– Davion Mitchell missed his fourth consecutive game and six overall with his shoulder sprain.

– And, yes, Spoelstra said, he has been missed.

– “He’s our point-of-attack defender and our pace is great with him,” Spoelstra said,

– The minutes in the interim have gone to Kasparas Jakucionis and Dru Smith.

– “While he’s been out,” Spoelstra said of Mitchell, “I think Kas and Dru have done a very good job with both of those things. They just do it in a different way. We miss him, but we want to be smart about it.”

– Jackucionis was limited in this one.

– But Smith again was good.

– As for where Mitchell stands with the shoulder, Spoelstra said, “I think if he was just doing non-contact right now, he’d be fine. So we’re just going to continue to treat him and then he’s doing more and more on the court. And when he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”

– Of opening the stretch of four games in five nights on Wednesday night Spoelstra said, “I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We’ll manage our energy the best that we can.”

– It was almost as if they paced themselves out of the second half.

– With Mitchell missing his sixth game with a shoulder contusion, the Heat opened for the fourth consecutive game with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Jakucionis.

– That lineup entered 3-1.

– It was Larsson’s 25th start.

– Adebayo was good.

– The rest of the starting lineup?

– Not so much.

– The Magic opened with a lineup of  Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.

–  Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic entered together first off the Heat bench.

– Smith followed.

– With Simone Fontecchio making it nine deep.

– And then Kel’el Ware as 10th man.

– The limited use of Ware was curious, to say the least.