As the first seeded Detroit Pistons get set to tip-off in Miami in less than two hours, the Heat’s rotation may look slightly different than it did on Wednesday night.
Jaime Jaquez Jr is out due to a groin injury tonight, which simply changes a couple different things when it comes to the Miami Heat’s offense.
Jaime Jaquez Jr is out tonight vs Pistons
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) November 29, 2025
Jaquez Jr has been such a steady rock for this team’s early season success. Even if the starters get jammed early, there’s an understanding that their sixth man of the year candidate can come in and change that offensive flow.
One way of filling in for that offensive hole in the rotation is doing something that was needed with or without Jaquez: staggering the team’s two elite scorers.
Running a five man bench unit is fun when injuries are piling up, but the luxury of having two scorers, in Tyler Herro and Norman Powell, is by letting them run their own lineups while the other gets a break.
We will see who ends up getting that initial run manning down the second unit, but either way, it’s in their best interest to unlock both those guys as scorers on the same night.
Aside from moving some puzzle pieces around, opportunity does rise for Nikola Jovic, who found himself outside the ten man rotation after returning from injury.
It’s a unique time for him to try and find his offensive flow. For one, the usage of Jaquez in that second unit needs to be somewhat filled by someone, and his paint attacks could do just that.
Secondly, it’s a situation where he isn’t being asked to specifically play the five. Even though there’s a good chance Kel’el Ware could be starting next to Bam Adebayo tonight, it’ll be good to give Jovic some reps back next to one of those bigs.
All eyes remain on getting this seventh win in a row tonight, as it would be significant to showcase this team can out-battle anybody.
Less bodies has never equaled more problems for Coach Erik Spoelstra, and that shouldn’t begin tonight.
