What stands out after 20 games for the Miami Heat?
The Miami Heat as an organization, and Pat Riley individually, have used the 20-game mark as an evaluation benchmark for each season. They believe that at this point in the year you have a more accurate outlook of the true potential of a team. We have now hit the 20-game mark on the 2025-2026 NBA season, so what stands out?
The Heat outperformed most expectations as they sit 13-7 and 4th in the Eastern Conference. Many projected this team to be a Play-in team or a 6 seed at best, so it is hard to be upset with how the season has gone so far.
It is also worth pointing out that the Heat have had a difficult schedule, and their three stars, (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Norman Powell), have all missed multiple games due to injury. Because of these injuries some argue that this could insinuate that the team is even better than their record. Time will tell, as all the stars are healthy and sharing the court.
The talk of the early season has been Miami’s pace and new offensive schemes. This might be the biggest surprise of the NBA year so far. The Heat went from a horribly slow pace, bottom 5 in the NBA, to now being the fastest team in the league.
The Miami Heat have a new offense this year built around pace, driving, and floor spacing
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) November 25, 2025
They run almost no pick and roll pic.twitter.com/L07gSsuOQg
Typically changes like this do not happen that quickly, certainly not with established coaches like Erik Spoelstra. This change’s impact can not be overstated. It has allowed them to survive the injuries to their scores and improve their offense as a whole.
Their offensive rating has gone from 21st to 13th. That is no small jump. When just looking at points per game the Heat currently sit at 2nd this year compared to 24th last season. Simply put, the Heat score more points and are more efficient at scoring them.
Though the offense gets all the talk, they are still a defensive team. The Heat are 2nd in the league in defensive rating, only trailing the defending champions OKC Thunder.
Through 19 games, the Miami HEAT currently rank 2nd in the NBA in defensive rating (110.7) — trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder (104.2).
— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards)
(via @statmuse) pic.twitter.com/xumE4xloKJNovember 27, 2025
Players like Dru Smith, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins continuously make contributions on the defensive end. They have helped stop the opposition on the perimeter.
Then you have Bam Adebayo, who might have his best chance to win Defensive Player of the Year. He has been sensational all year long. The Heat’s defensive rating plummets when he is not on the court, and so do their rebounding numbers. Adebayo should at minimum be a finalist for the award if he continues his level of play.
Players up and down the roster are stepping up to pull their weight. As previously mentioned, Adebayo, Wiggins, Smith, and Mitchell have all had large impacts. Pelle Larsson has shown poise and looks like a rotation player.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has risen from out of the rotation to being the favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. He has been in control and looks more athletic than he did last season. He is finishing in the paint phenomenally and is even using his penetration to help open up others. Jaquez Jr. looks to be the player many thought he would be after his rookie year.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the favorite to win sixth man of the year, per @PlayProphetX
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 25, 2025
(Via https://t.co/F1e8y6aqXE) pic.twitter.com/vNRwGzyCOZ
Kel’el Ware has shown much promise and has improved greatly as the year has gone on. He is more consistent and is stacking great games on top of each other. Becoming more of a player that Spoelstra can rely on.
Then you have the bucket getters. Tyler Herro has only played in 3 games but has shown his scoring ability in all of them. He seems as if the injury will not stop him from being a dependable scorer.
The main man has been Norman Powell, who is off to a blistering start. Powell is not only playing at an All-Star level, but at an All-NBA level. He has been everything the Heat dreamed of when they made the trade.
The most efficient players in the NBA this season carrying a +25% usage rate:
Nikola Jokic: 72.9 TS%
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 67.5 TS%
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 66.2 TS%
Austin Reaves: 65.2 TS%
Norman Powell: 64.9 TS% pic.twitter.com/nrMItaf5PU — Evan Sidery (@esidery) November 28, 2025
Overall, the Heat start has been much better and much more enjoyable than expected. The new offense is exciting. The defense is still elite. The stars are playing at exceptional levels, and the bench is doing their job phenomenally.
Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan admits there’s a loss of ‘control’
The Chicago Bulls are spiraling out of control fast.
Chicago has lost three games in a row to basement dwellers. Following defeats to the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets, the Bulls were outgunned in the final seconds as the
That was the Pacers fourth win of the season.
The Bulls double-team of Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones allowed Pascal Siakam to make a 14-foot jumper at the last second to win the game.
PASCAL SIAKAM GAME-WINNER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/p1hswTtN43
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 30, 2025
With the loss, Chicago dropped to 9-10.
The Chicago Bulls are losing control
If there was one good takeaway in the defeat, the Bulls held the Pacers to 103 points, the first time head coach Billy Donovan’s Bulls held an opponent to under 120 points in the last 12 outings.
During his postgame news conference, Donovan argued the team is struggling to control the basketball.
“On drives, that has been a challenge for us where we’ve had the ball driven through us quite honestly to the basket,” Donovan
“I would say our biggest challenge has been the controlling of the basketball, in particular one-on-one and in space.”
The Bulls will try again when they travel to play the 12-8 Orlando Magic on Monday night. Based on Donovan’s analysis, there’s a lot to fix before they even tackle the biggest challenge.
