It's safe to say that the Miami Heat have not played up to their expectations to begin the 2026-27 season. Entering play on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz, the Heat have won just four of their first 10 games. While it's understandable for the Heat to have some growing pains on offense considering that they're pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo with Bam Adebayo, their shortcomings on defense are downright inexcusable.

Even after taking a 115-109 win over the Jazz on Tuesday to move to 5-6 on the season, the Heat rank 25th in defensive rating by allowing 115.9 points per 100 possessions. For a team with a former Defensive Player of the Year in Antetokounmpo and a multiple-time DPOY contender in Adebayo, this is simply indefensible.

The good news is that the Heat have been making gradual improvements on that end of the floor, and Pelle Larsson poked fun at their putridity on that end of the floor earlier in the year by saying that they would have allowed more points to the Jazz had this game taken place weeks ago.

“[We've taken big steps] defensively, for sure. Today, 109 [points allowed]. First week, that would have probably been 130,” Larsson said, via Oh No He Didn't on X.

Pelle Larsson after holding the Jazz to 109 points tonight:

"First week that would have probably been 130" pic.twitter.com/2dXerOblmZ

— Oh No He Didn't 🤯 (@ohnohedidnt24) November 11, 2026

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The Heat have some signs of life, as head coach Erik Spoelstra appears to have figured out the right combinations. Larsson has stepped into the starting lineup in place of the struggling Andrew Wiggins, while they have also phased Tim Hardaway Jr. out of the rotation entirely.

Of course, it helps that Miami has faced three bad teams in their past four games in the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Jazz. But it is a red flag that the Heat still allow the most three-point makes per game, at 16.1, which bleeds into other parts of their defense.

Nonetheless, this team is newly-built, and it will take time for everything to coalesce. And it looks like the fruits of their labor are starting to ripen, although again, fans must take everything with a grain of salt considering the quality of their recent opposition.