Heat's young hierarchy has taken a shockingly unexpected turn

Miami Heat v Memphis Grizzlies | Justin Ford/GettyImagesFor better or worse, the Miami Heat's 2025-26 NBA season always figured to be determined by their young core. And in a lot of ways, it has been—just not how anyone expected.

The big leap forward Nikola Jovic was expected to take has yet to materialize. Kel'el Ware, another prime breakout candidate, might be staring at a role reduction. Meanwhile, Jaime Jaquez Jr., the forgotten member of this group, has used Miami's new offensive approach to turn his career around.

Exactly none of this aligns with preseason expectations, but that's that we they play the games, we suppose. The question now is whether all of these surprises should…