Miami hasn't played here yet this preseason, and it has 1 game first: Thursday's home opener against New Orleans. That game will show how Spoelstra splits minutes between his veterans and the new arrivals, and whether an illness going through the locker room has passed. Until then, the only result to go on is the opener in Quebec City, a 129-105 win over Toronto. Spoelstra has said he has "a loose plan right now, depending on the practices and the availability of everybody."
The Heat's list is mostly a depth issue. Andrew Wiggins was back at practice after an illness, while Pelle Larsson missed Wednesday with one of his own. Keshad Johnson is doing limited work on a sore hamstring, and Dru Smith is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a strained right calf. Minnesota's only entry is Donte DiVincenzo, still out with the Achilles. DiVincenzo still expects to return at some point this season, but the Wolves' guard depth runs through Hyland and Dosunmu until then.
The matchup to watch is size against size. Gobert and Kuminga have to deal with Antetokounmpo and Portis, while Edwards and Ball test a Heat backcourt that is about to lose Smith for a while. Spoelstra has said he's prioritizing veteran integration over working on end-of-game situations. Expect long stretches of the new pieces playing together and not much late-game strategy. For Minnesota, the question is simpler: can a new starting group hold a lead through a 3rd quarter?
Tipoff is 8:00 PM ET on Saturday, October 10. The score won't matter in 11 days, but the matchups will. These two meet again when it counts on October 21, and both staffs will be studying this film.