Miami Heat players take a photo with cancer patients and survivors before the start of the annual Red, White and Pink intrasquad Heat scrimmage at Kaseya Center on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, in Miami, Fla. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
The Miami Heat usually holds its intrasquad scrimmage that’s open to the public ahead of the preseason. But because of scheduling conflicts, the Heat held that scrimmage five games into its six-game preseason schedule.
The Heat took part in its annual “Red, White & Pink Game” in front of fans on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center. Tickets for the scrimmage cost $10 each, with proceeds benefiting cancer care and research at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.
“Anyone who still is in this fight, we are with you,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said at center court before the start of the scrimmage.
The Heat, which has dropped its first five exhibitions this year, closes the preseason on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies in Miami (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun).
Wednesday’s scrimmage consisted of four 10-minute quarters. Here are some observations from the intrasquad game:
▪ Seven Heat players did not play in the scrimmage because of injuries.
Bam Adebayo (right knee contusion), Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Terry Rozier (strained left hamstring), Nikola Jovic (lower back pain), Kel’el Ware (big toenail removed), Kasparas Jakucionis (right groin strain) and Ethan Thompson (low back contusion) were held out of Wednesday’s “Red, White & Pink Game.”
Herro is the only player on that list who has definitively been ruled out for the start of the regular season. He’s expected to miss at least the first month of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his ankle last month.
“I’ll be back sooner than later,” Herro said while speaking to the Kaseya Center crowd on Wednesday, “so I’m excited.”
▪ This was an event for the fans and the players had fun with it.
Very little defense was played and there weren’t many fouls committed. There was an All-Star Game feel to the intrasquad scrimmage. ▪ With those players out, the lineups to start the scrimmage looked like this.
The Red Team opened with a lineup of Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Keshad Johnson and Vlad Goldin.
The White Team began with a lineup of Dru Smith, Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Simone Fontecchio and Precious Achiuwa.
▪ Larsson, who is entering his second NBA season, started fast with nine first-quarter points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 shooting on threes. He finished the scrimmage with 27 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
▪ Wiggins recorded four points in the scrimmage.
Miami Heat center Precious Achiuwa dunks the ball during the annual Red, White and Pink intrasquad Heat scrimmage at Kaseya Center on October 15, 2025, in Miami. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
▪ Powell, who was acquired by the Heat this past offseason in a trade, finished with a scrimmage-high 46 points on 18-of-26 shooting from the field and 10-of-17 shooting from three-point range.
▪ Achiuwa recorded 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
▪ Johnson ended the night with a triple-double stat line of 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
▪ Mitchell totaled six poiints, four rebounds and four assists.
▪ Jaquez finished with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-10 shooting on threes.
▪ Fontecchio recorded 15 points on 3-of-9 shooting from three-point range.
▪ Guard Jahmir Young, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract and is trying to earn an NBA deal this preseason, showed off his scoring ability. Young totaled eight points in five first-quarter minutes and ended the night with 30 points on 15-of-27 shooting from the field and 10-of-21 shooting on threes.
▪ 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 Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute.
Spoelstra watched the scrimmage from a courtside seat alongside both of his sons and his daughter.
▪ The Heat will need to make roster cuts in the coming days.
The Heat’s roster is currently at the preseason maximum of 21 players, and rosters must be cut to a maximum total of 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts) by the start of the regular season.
NBA teams have a 5 p.m. deadline on Monday to cut rosters to the regular-season maximum. But most of those moves actually need to be made by 5 p.m. Saturday because of the 48-hour waiver period.
While the Heat’s standard roster is likely set at 15 players unless Miami decides to waive center/forward Precious Achiuwa before the start of the regular season, one of the Heat’s three two-way contract slots remains open. Forward Myron Gardner and center Vlad Goldin occupy two of Miami’s two-way contract spots.
It’s worth noting that only players with fewer than four years of NBA experience are eligible for two-way deals.
Forward Dain Dainja, forward Steve Settle III, guard Ethan Thompson and guard Jahmir Young are the four Heat players currently signed to Exhibit 10 preseason contracts, but they are all options to fill Miami’s third and final two-way contract slot. Otherwise, all four Exhibit 10 players could be cut by the Heat ahead of Saturday’s 5 p.m. deadline, with the hope that they will spend this season with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.