Heat winless in preseason as roster decisions loom ahead of Grizzlies

The Miami Heat enter the final days of the preseason winless and facing urgent roster decisions as they prepare for Friday night’s exhibition against the Memphis Grizzlies at Kaseya Center and an opening night at Orlando a week later. Miami is 0-5 in preseason play, has battled a string of injuries and absences, and must trim its 21-player camp roster ahead of the league’s waiver and roster cut deadlines this weekend.

Coach Erik Spoelstra and the organization have balanced resting regulars and managing injuries across exhibitions, leaving the Heat short-handed in several games. Leading scorer Tyler Herro will miss the start of the regular season after ankle surgery. Nikola Jovic has missed recent preseason contests with lower back tightness, Kasparas Jakucionis exited with right hip soreness, and Terry Rozier continues to be limited by a strained left hamstring. Bam Adebayo landed awkwardly and sustained a right knee contusion in Atlanta but the team has not deemed an MRI necessary and described the injury as not serious.

Spoelstra has also sat established rotation players at times to preserve them for the regular season. Norman Powell, Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and others were...