SoFla Guide Editors
The Miami Heat have not won a game yet, and tonight they get another shot against the Dallas Mavericks at Kaseya Center. At 0-3, Miami is off to its worst start since 2007-08, according to ESPN, so a loss would push the new-look Bam-Giannis Heat to 0-4. Crisis? Let’s look at what has actually happened.
Three games, three losses
The season started badly and has stayed that way. Miami lost its home opener to the Minnesota Timberwolves 131-106 on Oct. 21, a 25-point thumping, as the Miami Herald reported. Two nights later the Detroit Pistons came to town and left with a 128-111 win, according to the Herald.
Then came Charlotte. On Oct. 24 the Heat lost 115-110 on the road to the Hornets, ESPN reported, and the timing made it sting more. Charlotte had lost by 47 points to Atlanta the night before.
Brandon Miller torched Miami for 34 points to lead the Hornets, per ESPN. On the Heat side, Davion Mitchell led the way with 22 points and Bam Adebayo added 20. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 14 points and fouled out with under two minutes left, ESPN reported. That is not the closing-time picture anyone in Miami had in mind over the summer.
Some history nobody wanted
The numbers around this start are rough. ESPN reported that this is only the fifth 0-3 opening in franchise history. It is also the first 0-3 start of Erik Spoelstra’s 19-year tenure as head coach, per ESPN Research. Nineteen years, and this is the first time. Let that sink in.
It is a first for Antetokounmpo too. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel noted that the star has never before opened a season 0-3.
The Heat brought Antetokounmpo over in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks on July 6, 2026, a deal that also included Bobby Portis Jr., according to Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. Miami then signed Klay Thompson in August. On paper, it looked like a summer that would make the rest of the East nervous.
On the court, the starting group is the biggest red flag so far. The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang reported that the lineup of Mitchell, Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Antetokounmpo and Adebayo has been outscored by 30 points in 31 minutes together. That works out to a net rating of -47.1 per 100 possessions, per Chiang. Translation: when Spoelstra’s starters share the floor, things have gone sideways in a hurry.
So is it a crisis?
Here is the honest answer. Three games is a tiny sample, and a starting five that is brand new together has had only 31 minutes to figure itself out, based on Chiang’s numbers. Lineups with this much new talent sometimes need time.
But the losses have not all been close calls. Two came at home by double digits, and the third came against a Charlotte team that had just been blown out by Atlanta. That is why national analysts are already asking what is wrong in Miami.
Inside the locker room, the message is about leaning into it. Mitchell put it this way, as quoted by Sports Illustrated’s On SI Heat site:
“The motto of our group is ‘Pain.’ We’re going through pain and we love that because you learn so much from it.”
Very Miami. Very Heat Culture. Fans will just want the learning portion to start showing up in the win column soon.
What’s next: Heat vs. Mavericks tonight
The Heat (0-3) host the Dallas Mavericks (1-2) tonight, Monday, Oct. 26, at Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, according to the official Heat game notes from NBA.com. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.
If you are watching from home, the game is on NBA TV and WPLG, per NBA.com.
Dallas is not exactly cruising either, sitting at 1-2. That makes tonight a real opportunity for Miami to get off the mat in front of the home crowd before 0-3 turns into a much louder conversation.
Things to watch:
- The starters. Can the Mitchell, Thompson, Wiggins, Antetokounmpo and Adebayo group flip that ugly net rating, or will Spoelstra start tinkering?
- Giannis and the fouls. Fouling out late in a close game against Charlotte hurt. Keeping him on the floor in crunch time matters.
- Bam’s night. Adebayo put up 20 in Charlotte. The Heat will need that kind of production again.
One win does not fix everything, but it sure beats explaining an 0-4 start. Pain is the motto. Tonight, Miami would love a little relief.
