Observations from Heat’s Red, White and Pink scrimmage on the eve of preseason opener

Last week, the Miami Heat’s work was behind closed doors during training camp at Florida Atlantic University. But the Heat kicked off this week with an intrasquad scrimmage open to the public.

The Heat took part in the annual Red, White and Pink Game in front of fans on Monday night at Kaseya Center. Tickets for the scrimmage cost $5 each, with proceeds benefiting cancer care and research at the Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.

“Tonight is about having fun and about saluting and celebrating and honoring the survivors, who are so inspiring,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

The Heat returned most of last season’s roster that made it all the way to the NBA Finals before falling to the Denver Nuggets in the championship series. But there are also some new faces who were able to play in front of the Miami crowd on Monday.

The Heat’s roster, which is currently at the NBA’s preseason maximum of 21 players, includes 13 players on standard contracts: Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson and Orlando Robinson.

The Heat also has three players signed to two-way deals (RJ Hampton, Jamal Cain and Dru Smith) and five players signed to Exhibit 10 contracts that essentially are tryout deals (Cheick Diallo, Justin Champagnie, Drew Peterson, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams).

Monday’s scrimmage consisted of four 10-minute quarters. Here are some observations from the intrasquad game:

▪ This was an event for the fans and the players had fun with it.

Very little defense was played, there weren’t many fouls committed and the right-handed Butler shot everything with his left hand. There was an All-Star Game feel to the intrasquad scrimmage.

So take these observations for what they’re worth.

▪ For those on lineup watch, the Red Team opened the scrimmage with a lineup of Butler, Herro, Richardson, Jovic and Bryant.

The opposing White Team began the scrimmage with a lineup of Adebayo, Love, Jaquez, Duncan Robinson and Lowry.

Players switched between teams throughout the scrimmage.

▪ Herro, who was involved in Damian Lillard trade speculation for most of the summer, put on a three-point shooting display to begin the scrimmage.

Herro totaled 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range in the first quarter. Those are the only points he scored in his 17 minutes of action on Monday.

“If you take somebody with his work ethic that’s so determined during the offseason and that just carries over during the year, you’re going to see a player that continues to improve,” Spoelstra said of Herro. “That old saying that young players only improve in the first three years, he’s obliterating that concept because I think he’s poised for a big jump this year.”

▪ Butler scored his only two points of the scrimmage on free throws shot with his left hand and eyes closed. He played 10:39 in the first quarter and did not re-enter.

▪ Lowry didn’t take a shot but dished out four assists while playing the entire first quarter. Like Butler, he did not re-enter the scrimmage past the opening period.

▪ Adebayo finished the scrimmage with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 shooting on threes, six rebounds and three assists in 19:14.

▪ Swider showed off his three-point stroke that continues to intrigue the Heat. He scored 27 points on 6-of-12 shooting from deep in the scrimmage.

Swider is one of the Heat’s five players on Exhibit 10 contracts who are vying for a spot on the regular-season roster.

“I don’t have a contract right now and I’m working to get one,” Swider said following the scrimmage. “So my attitude is a little bit different going into this game than maybe some of the guys already with a contract. I tried to go out there and just play my game, shoot the shots I would shoot in a game and just get ready for tomorrow.”

▪ Jaquez, who was selected by the Heat with the 18th pick in this year’s draft, finished his first Red, White and Pink Game with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and 2-of-9 shooting on threes. He flashed his athleticism, throwing down a handful of dunks during the scrimmage.

“It was a lot of fun being out there,” Jaquez said of his first basketball experience at Kaseya Center in front of fans. “First time with the guys in front of the home crowd. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to be able to play for the first time in the arena.”

What does Jaquez want to prove to Spoelstra during the preseason?

“Just being able to knock down shots and play defense and not make too many mistakes, I think, is the biggest thing,” Jaquez said. “I think building trust is the most important things for getting on the floor. Having coach Spo have trust in me is something I’m going to have to build. It’s going to take time and I know that. It’s just going to be a process and we’re going to keep chipping away until that leash gets longer and then we’ll see what happens.”

▪ Jovic, who is entering his second NBA season, finished the scrimmage with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

▪ Orlando Robinson ended the scrimmage with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

▪ Caleb Martin was the only Heat player who did not take part in the scrimmage. He watched on from the bench.

Martin was held out of the Heat’s final training camp practice on Saturday because of left knee tendinosis.

“He’s been dealing with something, the tendinitis he had the last few weeks of the summer,” Spoelstra said when asked Monday about Martin’s status. “We just want to make sure. He was grinding and it wasn’t going away. That’s an easy thing for us to take care of right now. We just want to make sure that he’s feeling great moving forward and he’s getting better each day.”

▪ With the event benefiting cancer care and research, Heat players and Spoelstra were each introduced ahead of the scrimmage alongside physicians, patients and survivors from the Miami Cancer Institute.

Spoelstra watched the scrimmage from a courtside seat alongside both of his sons.

▪ There are new larger videos screens in the four corners of Kaseya Center.

▪ The scrimmage marked the beginning of a busy week for the Heat, which opens its five-game preseason schedule on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun and NBA TV).

The Heat then hits the road later in the week for a preseason game against the Spurs in San Antonio on Friday before returning home for a preseason matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.