Takeaways from Heat’s preseason finale against Rockets, and a look at the decision at hand

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 110-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in its fifth and final preseason game on Friday night at Toyota Center to close the preseason at 2-3. Next up for the Heat is its regular-season opener on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center:

Jamal Cain, RJ Hampton, Dru Smith and the rest of the Heat’s developmental prospects on two-way deals and Exhibit 10 contracts now wait to learn their fates.

With the Heat wrapping up the preseason Friday, the team’s top decision-makers now need to choose who will fill the final four spots (one standard contract and three two-way contracts) on its roster for the start of the regular season.

That decision will come soon, as NBA teams have a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday to cut rosters to the regular-season maximum of 15 players (not including the three two-way contract slots). Teams will need to make those moves by 5 p.m. Saturday because of the 48-hour waiver period.

The Heat technically has two open slots on its 15-man standard roster for the regular season with only 13 players currently on standard deals, but the expectation is Miami will begin with 14 players on the standard roster because of its luxury tax position. NBA rules prevent teams from carrying fewer than 14 players for any extended stretch during the regular season.

There are six players on the Heat’s current 19-man preseason roster who are candidates for the 14th spot on the standard roster and the three two-way contract slots.

Cain, Hampton and Smith currently hold the Heat’s three two-way contracts and are hoping to either keep those spots or preferably be promoted to the main roster as the 14th standard contract.

Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games with other game action having to come in the G League. But while two-way deals can be swapped out at any time and provide little long-term security, most standard contracts come with at least partially guaranteed money.

Then there are Justin Champagnie, Cheick Diallo and Cole Swider, who are all on Exhibit 10 tryout contracts and working to earn either a two-way deal or standard deal from the Heat.

The Heat could also sign an outside free agent to fill those openings.

Cain has stood out among this group of six players competing for regular-season roster spots because of his strong all-around play this preseason. But Cain, an athletic forward with defensive versatility, was not able to play in Friday’s preseason finale because of an illness.

The 24-year-old Cain, who spent last season on a two-way deal with the Heat after going undrafted out of Oakland University, hopes he did enough to earn the 14th spot on the Heat’s standard roster. He totaled 45 points while shooting an efficient 18 of 32 (56.3 percent) from the field and 8 of 12 (66.7 percent) from three-point range and 31 rebounds (15 offensive and 16 defensive) over the Heat’s second, third and fourth preseason games after not getting into the preseason opener until there was 5:50 left in the fourth quarter.

Smith, 25, is another one of the top candidates to earn the 14th spot on the Heat’s standard roster. He fills a position of need as a point guard and has impressed Heat coaches with his ability to fit in around the team’s best players if needed to run the offense.

Smith, who joined Heat’s development program as an undrafted prospect in 2021, finished Friday’s loss with two points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field, one rebound, five assists and two steals in 22 minutes.

Swider, who is known for his three-point shooting and spent last season on a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, also had positive moments this preseason. The 6-foot-8 sharpshooter scored eight points on 1-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc in 12 minutes on Friday.

Hampton, who returned to play Friday after missing the previous three preseason games because of a hip injury, flashed his intriguing skill set and potential with a team-high 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 5-of-6 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds, five assists and one steal in 25 minutes. The 2020 first-round pick is being developed as a point guard by the Heat.

The Heat played some of its regulars in the preseason finale, but injuries kept some important players out.

Along with missing Cain, the Heat was without Jimmy Butler (dental procedure), Haywood Highsmith (left MCL sprain), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (strained left groin) and Josh Richardson (sore right foot) in the preseason finale. Cain was with the team in Houston, but Butler, Highsmith, Jaquez and Richardson did not make the trip.

Highsmith, who was expected to be part of the Heat’s opening night rotation, is the only one of the five who has been definitively ruled out for the start of the regular season. The Heat announced Thursday that Highsmith’s injury will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

With 14 players available for the final preseason game, the Heat used a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Kevin Love and Bam Adebayo.

With Richardson’s status in question for the opener, it appears that the Heat may begin the regular season with a starting lineup of Lowry, Herro, Butler, Love and Adebayo. Butler did not play in any preseason games this year, but Lowry, Herro, Love and Adebayo started in every preseason game they appeared in.

As it should be when Butler is out, Adebayo and Herro were the Heat’s two best players on Friday.

Adebayo didn’t play much, but he made his presence known immediately. The Heat’s two-time All-Star center scored the team’s first seven points and totaled 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter.

Adebayo closed the game with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.

Herro, who missed the previous preseason game on Wednesday because of a thigh contusion, continued his strong preseason with 13 points 4-of-9 shooting from the field, 1-of-3 shooting on threes and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line and four assists in 16 minutes. He ended the preseason averaging 21.7 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent shooting from three-point range in three appearances.

The Heat also played Hampton, Thomas Bryant, Nikola Jovic, Smith and Duncan Robinson off the bench in the first half.

Lowry, Herro, Martin, Love and Adebayo then spent the entire second half on the bench, while Orlando Robinson, Champagnie, Swider and Diallo got in the game in the final two quarters. Every available Heat player played in Friday’s preseason finale.

Martin made his preseason debut in the Heat’s preseason finale, which is an encouraging sign for his availability for Wednesday’s regular-season opener.

While battling tendinitis in his left knee, Martin missed the Heat’s first four preseason games. But he felt healthy enough to play in Friday’s preseason finale.

Determined to get in some game action before the start of the regular season, the 28-year-old Martin closed Friday’s preseason loss with four points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting on threes, four rebounds and two assists in 13 first-half minutes before sitting out the second half.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said prior to the game that Martin would “play just a few minutes ... just to get his feet wet.”

Playing in a starting role, Martin was on the court for the first 8:34. His first points of the game came on a transition layup.

The expectation is that Martin will begin the season in a bench role, which he thrived in during the Heat’s playoff run to the NBA Finals last season.

Jovic had some encouraging moments to close an otherwise rough preseason.

Jovic, 20, contributed 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field, three rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes on Friday. His best stretch of the game and preseason came in the second quarter of the loss, when he attacked the basket for two paint scores and a driving foul to score six points in a span of 1:14.

Prior to Friday’s preseason finale, Jovic had recorded 11 points on 3-of-10 (30 percent) shooting from the field and 2-of-8 (25 percent) shooting from beyond the arc in two preseason appearances this year. He missed the Heat’s other two preseason games because of a right knee contusion.

Jovic, who the Heat selected late in the first round of last year’s draft, is coming off a busy summer that included weeks of summer league action with the Heat before taking part in weeks of competitive games in the FIBA Basketball World Cup with the Serbian national team.

It remains to be seen if Jovic will be part of the Heat’s opening night rotation, especially with the team’s current injury issues.

Butler did not play in any of the Heat’s five preseason games, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Butler, 34, underwent multiple dental procedures over the last few weeks that kept him out of games this preseason. Although, he likely wouldn’t have played many preseason games anyway after appearing in two preseason games last year and two preseason games in 2021.

Butler also did not appear in either of the Heat’s two exhibitions leading up to the pandemic-delayed start of the 2020-21 season.

This means Butler’s first NBA game since last season ended for the Heat in the NBA Finals on June 12 will come in Wednesday’s regular-season opener. That’s more than four months off from playing on the NBA stage.

Butler, 34, downplayed the notion that he needed to play in a preseason game before the start of the regular season, saying Thursday that “I think I’m in great shape.”