Tyler Herro's absence could turn two Heat players into starters

Attention quickly turns to the adjustments that Erik Spoelstra and staff will have to make regarding lineups and game-plans: including the starting unit. Naturally, Davion Mitchell most likely steps right into the starting point guard slot in a more traditional style, similar to the lineup that finished the season last year following the trade deadline.

But is it as simple as a Mitchell for Herro swap?

Mitchell, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, and Kel'el Ware would withhold many of the offensive values that the Heat obtained last year, except they will need Powell to perform at the number one option level that Herro did on his way to a 24 point per game season.

Is there enough shooting in that lineup? Do they need one more play-maker to make things work? Well, it's highly possible that Nikola Jovic rolls right into starting territory along with Mitchell.

It provides a bit more versatility and overall balance to execute the things that Coach Spoelstra will lay out for this group. Sending Ware to the bench isn't great after finally finding a big man front-court they can stick to, but it's just a temporary basis to keep things afloat as Herro recovers.

Surrounding Adebayo, Powell, and Wiggins with the perimeter defense of Mitchell and offensive pop of Jovic feels like a direction this team will lean coming out of camp. The Heat were preparing to heavily stagger Adebayo and Ware anyways early in the year due to the absence of a backup big man, so this just fast-tracks that.

If Jovic can make the jump that many people believe he can and Mitchell can mirror some of that shooting juice from last season, (where he shot 45% from three), it'll help quiet the noise from that missing All Star at the two-guard early in the season.