Erik Spoelstra reveals Heat's preseason plans amid Hurricane Milton

Yesterday at 20:11

After a productive training camp for the Miami Heat, they are now in the midst of the preseason, though there has been some hurdles along the way already. As the Heat prepare to take on a loaded Eastern Conference, they had their preseason opener Tuesday and was ready for Thursday’s home opener in Miami until it was postponed due to Hurricane Milton as Erik Spoelstra speaks of their plan of action.

While South Florida didn’t get the brunt of damage that Hurricane Milton brought more up North into the center, the Heat still took Wednesday and Thursday off as the storm passed through the state. They will practice Friday in preparation for Saturday’s home preseason opener against the New Orleans Pelicans as Spoelstra aims for the team to re-focus and provides more insight into their approach according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

"We just want to be intentional with the work that we're putting in," Spoelstra said. "I do want to accomplish a few things. I want to be able to play some of the main rotation players or at least the anticipated group. But I also want to continue to look at the young guys."

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the benefit of getting “conditioning” in preseason

The preseason is always a time to look at the main players the team will bring on a game by game basis while also looking at the possible breakout stars for the Heat. This was shown in Tuesday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets as the starting lineup was Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Alec Burks, Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo.

For Butler, he had not played a single preseason game in 2023 so this is a different outlook for this time of the year and as for the newcomer in Burks, it is likely he filled in for Heat star Tyler Herro who missed the game due to a groin injury. Despite the outcome, Spoelstra found the game to be positively meaningful to get some “conditioning” in.

"It was good to get that game conditioning in," Spoelstra said after the game to the media. "It always feels a little bit different no matter how many years you've played. Our guys have been working extremely hard, but it was good to face somebody else. I thought all three units at various times did some good things."

Heat’s possible rotations are endless

One player who fans are excited to see the further development of is 21-year old Serbian star in Jovic who became the team’s starting power forward towards the second half of the season. It seems to be his position to lose as he gives the Heat size and spacing as Spoelstra spoke of his fluid role within the rotation.

"He didn't do anything to not at least have us look at that," Spoelstra said of Jovic. "His best basketball was at the end of the year and into the playoffs. That was really important for him."

Rozier made his return to Charlotte after playing four and a half seasons for the Hornets as was traded before the deadline last season to the Heat. He is crucial to Miami as he gives the team more explosive offense on top of the ability to be a play maker as he expressed how “fun” it will be to see the bevy of lineups Spoelstra can throw out there.

"Go out there and just put a couple five-men lineups together and see what we can do out there," Rozier said. "It's going to be a lot of fun. Obviously, how we ended the season last year, we got some things that we want to get done this year. It starts now."

At any rate, fans will be locking in their prediction for the Heat’s season as they look to improve after finishing at the eighth seed for the second straight season. They are in the midst of the preseason as they prepare for the regular season opener on Oct. 23 against the Orlando Magic.

The post Erik Spoelstra reveals Heat’s preseason plans amid Hurricane Milton appeared first on ClutchPoints.