(Mandatory Credit: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Can you believe it?! We are less than 24 hours away from the Miami Heat’s preseason opener against the Orlando Magic in Puerto Rico!
Except, while we (I) were adamant that the Heat’s roster construction was significantly imbalanced, loaded with several guards, they will be without most of their top guards for Saturday’s opener.
Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reported Friday that five Heat guards — Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson, Terry Rozier, Davion Mitchell and Kasparas Jakucionis — did not travel with the team.
All five of the Heat’s injured players (Herro, Larsson, Rozier, Mitchell and Jakucionis) will not travel for Saturday’s preseason game vs. Magic in Puerto Rico.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 3, 2025
Chiang’s tweet does not include Dru Smith (achilles recovery), who isn’t quite back yet.
Herro’s absence was expected after the one-time All-Star underwent foot surgery last week. The others? Not as much, at least heading into the week.
Mitchell did not practice Friday due to calf soreness; Jakucionis did not practice on Thursday or Friday due to a sprained wrist; Rozier missed most of camp with a hamstring injury; Larsson is currently dealing with a quad contusion.
The Heat’s best guard available heading into Saturday will be Norman Powell, who Miami acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in early July. It could also open up a steady dose of ball-handling opportunities for Heat wing Nikola Jovic, who signed a four-year extension with the team this week.
Outside of them? Miami’s Exhibit 10 guards — Jahmir Young, Ethan Thompson, Trevor Keels — in addition to its two-way guard, Myron Gardner, should get plenty of run. We’ll see how Spoelstra allocates those minutes, but the beauty in all of it is that we get to see how they fare against Orlando’s improved backcourt, sans Jalen Suggs.
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