Heat’s last three first-round picks stand out and other takeaways from Heat’s preseason loss
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 112-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night night at Kaseya Center to fall to 0-3 this preseason. The Heat will now have a few days off before continuing its six-game exhibition schedule on Sunday against the Magic in Orlando:
The Heat got two players back from injury, as rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis made his preseason debut and second-year guard Pelle Larsson played in his first preseason game of the year.
Jakucionis (sprained left wrist) and Larsson (left quad contusion) both missed the Heat’s first two preseason games with their respective injuries before returning to play on Wednesday.
It didn’t take long for the 19-year-old Jakucionis to show off his playmaking ability after entering the game with 2:26 left in the first quarter, recording four assists in his first four minutes of action.
Jakucionis, who the Heat selected with the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, contributed eight points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting from three-point range while dishing out 10 assists to only three turnovers in 25 minutes in his first NBA preseason game.
“He has a vision,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jakucionis. “I think that led to some of the turnovers probably in college. He’s willing, he’s courageous enough to try to make the play. So he has the vision, and he’s willing to try to make it.”
But it’s not just the passing that has impressed the Heat. Jakucionis has also opened eyes with his consistent hustle and effort.
“You see his tenaciousness and just his approach to everything, he’s full speed,” Spoelstra added. “He has a kamikaze element to him. Him and Pelle are going to spend a lot of time on the ground. But he’s like jet fuel. You just immediately feel his energy and his speed. It was great to have him out there. It was fun. That was fun, those minutes.”
Jakucionis said after his preseason debut that “whatever the coach tells me, I’m trying to do and execute.”
Larsson, 24, totaled four points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting on threes, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 16 minutes in the first preseason action of his second NBA season.
Larsson, who was selected by the Heat in the second round of last year’s draft, is coming off a productive offseason that included EuroBasket action. After impressing with the Heat’s summer league team, he averaged 18.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in five EuroBasket appearances as a member of Sweden’s national team.
“I think all of it is important and could be really helpful,” Spoelstra said prior to Wednesday’s exhibition when asked about Larsson’s offseason. “Not only for his game, but his confidence. The games in EuroBasket, those are legit playoff intensity games. Anytime you can go through something that intense during the summer, I think it helps all the players that compete at that level. Summer league in our program, for familiarity, a slightly different role. That was part of his development.”
Heat center Kel’el Ware delivered a dominant response after being challenged by Spoelstra, as it was a positive night for the Heat’s last three first-round picks.
Even after Ware posted a standout stat line of 18 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes during Monday’s exhibition loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Spoelstra pointed to his rough plus/minus of minus 21.
“I’m not looking at the stat line,” Spoelstra said after Monday’s preseason game. “I think everybody is looking at the wrong thing. It’s got to impact the game. I want him the next game to be a plus 20. That’s what it’s about.”
Ware wasn’t a plus 20 on Wednesday, but he did make a positive impact.
Ware, 21, finished the Heat’s third preseason game with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 shooting on threes and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 26 minutes. He closed as a plus 10.
“I always take anything that the coach says to me as motivation,” Ware said following Wednesday’s exhibition game. “I take it and I try to impact it into my game, and I try to play as hard as I can. Like I said in the last interview, I was still getting my legs back under me from training camp.”
Ware’s first half on Wednesday was especially impressive, recording 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, seven rebounds (three offensive rebounds) and one block during a first-half stint that lasted 8:58. He was a plus 4 during this stretch.
“He put a lot of it together tonight,” Spoelstra said of Ware. “His pick and roll coverages were really good. He was protecting the basket. He was closing out when he needed to. Rebounded the ball very well, and he was playing with force.”
Along with the strong nights of Jakucionis (this year’s first-round pick) and Ware (last year’s first-round pick), the Heat’s 2023 first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr. also played well on Wednesday. Jaquez totaled an efficient 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 shooting from the foul line in 28 minutes.
“He’s such a downhill force that he’s going to attract help-side defenders,” Spoelstra said of Jaquez, who scored 10 of his 19 points in the paint. “So naturally, he has to evolve and make enough plays to keep the defense honest because we need him to be aggressive.”
But even after Ware’s dominant preseason performance on Wednesday, he seems destined to begin the regular season in a reserve role despite ending last season as a Heat starter and one of the league’s best rookies. Adebayo and Ware, who closed last season as Miami’s starting frontcourt, have yet to play together through the first three preseason games.
The Heat was still without four players on Wednesday.
The Heat remained without Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Davion Mitchell (calf soreness), Terry Rozier (strained left hamstring) and Simone Fontecchio (left lower leg tightness) for its exhibition game against the Spurs.
Herro, Mitchell and Rozier have now missed the Heat’s first three preseason games. Fontecchio has now missed the Heat’s last two preseason games after finishing with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting on threes, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes off the bench during Saturday’s preseason opener in Puerto Rico.
That left the Heat with 16 available players for Wednesday’s exhibition.
The Heat opened with a starting lineup of Dru Smith, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo. The only change from the first two preseason games was that Smith started in place of Jaquez.
The Heat then went with a bench unit of Jaquez, Keshad Johnson, Larsson, Ware and Jakucionis in the first half.
After playing those 10 players in the first two quarters, the Heat also played two-way contract forward Myron Gardner in Wednesday’s second half to use 11 of its 17 available players.
The Spurs also played most of their available regulars, including star center Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama finished Wednesday’s exhibition with 10 points, four rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in 22 minutes.
Adebayo continues to struggle to make shots this preseason.
Adebayo totaled just 12 points on 1-of-8 (12.5 percent) shooting from the field through the Heat’s first two preseason games. Most of his points came at the foul line, shooting 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the three-throw line in the first two exhibitions.
Adebayo’s shooting struggles continued on Wednesday, finishing with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 shooting from the foul line in 22 minutes.
Adebayo now has 21 points on 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) shooting from the field through the first three preseason games.
“Tonight was a little bit better,” Spoelstra said Wednesday when asked about Adebayo’s preseason shooting struggles. “Just the shots didn’t go down. We got him a little bit more in his sweet spots”.”
Considering Adebayo has shot better than 50 percent from the field in seven of his first eight NBA seasons and is a three-time All-Star, these preseason shooting struggles shouldn’t be too big of a concern.
Most of the Heat’s available regulars played into the second half for the first time this preseason.
Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins played in each of the first two preseason games, but only in the first half. They were given the second half off in each of those exhibitions.
But Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins were on the court to begin the second half on Wednesday, as they each set a new preseason-high in minutes.
Wiggins’ night ended when he was pulled from the game with 6:29 left in the third quarter. He finished with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-4-shooting on threes, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 21 minutes.
Adebayo’s night ended when he was subbed out with 5:05 left in the third quarter.
Powell was the last one of the three to be taken out of the game, as he was subbed out with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter. He closed with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting from three-point range and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 26 minutes.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 10:07 PM.
