Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra Praises Starting Five, Star Agrees

With everyone healthy, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes the offense is hard to stop.

Oct 13, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) drives to the basket against Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) and forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is extremely pleased with what he saw from the starting lineup in their 101-99 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday afternoon.

It was the first time Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo saw the floor together this preseason. They played 17 minutes together. The sample size was all Spoelstra needed to see.

"The group was really encouraging. That's they way they looked in training camp in the Bahamas. The group has gone at it with the right mindset," Spoelstra said. "They rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They have to work on our system and play to each other's strengths."

Spoelstra added their contributions went further than the offensive end.

"The defense was very active and disruptive and offensively, played very fluidly," Spoelstra shared. "The ball was moving and I liked what I saw. The guys were comfortable as well."

"They have come in with the right intentions, to work at it. Terry and Tyler make our lineup fast. They are in great shape," Spoelstra said. "They give us speed and quickness. Jimmy and Bam will be able to figure it out. They are the anchors of what we do and we will always play through them. But, Terry and Tyler gave us that pop."

Jovic backed his coach's option, noting there's still room improvement.

"It wasn't perfect, but we were aiming to be as good as we can be," Jovic said. "Some of those guys have all the experience. They want me to help them get easy buckets."

"It felt great. Its not gonna be great from the jump, but I felt pretty good and I think the other guys did too," Jovic said. "We showed we have so much offensive talent and that its really difficult to guard us. We showed we can really run. We showed it. Its pretty obvious that we have a lot of talent. We just have to show it every night."

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Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com.

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