Brooklyn has a game to play first, in Washington on Monday, October 12, and the availability picture could change after it. As of now the Nets have 4 players on the day-to-day list. Michael Porter Jr. has left wrist soreness, Day'Ron Sharpe has left shoulder soreness, Mikel Brown Jr. has an ankle issue and Joshua Jefferson has a back issue. All 4 sat out the Philadelphia game. Watch Monday's lineup in D.C. for how many of them are back by Wednesday.
Porter is the one to watch. He's the Nets' most proven scorer, and a sore wrist in October is the kind of thing a team protects all the way to opening night. If he and Sharpe sit again, Brooklyn's frontcourt looks thin against a team built around Giannis and Bam. That matchup would show Miami's new size more than it would test it.
Miami's depth is thinner than its headliners. Dru Smith is out a couple of weeks with a strained right calf, Keshad Johnson is still limited by a hamstring and Kylor Kelley missed the Minnesota game with a calf problem. If Spoelstra rests his regulars again, the guards and bigs at the end of the bench get real minutes. That's not great for viewers, but it's useful for a coach deciding who makes the opening-night rotation.
Tipoff is 7:30 PM ET. Keep expectations at preseason level: the score doesn't matter and the minutes will be spread around. Still, Giannis next to Bam in a Heat uniform hasn't gotten old yet, and how healthy Brooklyn looks will say a lot about where the Nets stand with opening night close.