Heat Magic Basketball Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra reacts to his team as they play against the Orlando Magic during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Kevin Kolczynski/AP)
ORLANDO. Fla. — The Miami Heat opened the 2025–26 regular season on the road Wednesday, falling to the in-state rival Orlando Magic, 125–121, in a back-and-forth matchup.
Norman Powell led Miami with 28 points in his Heat debut, while Bam Adebayo added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
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The Heat came out strong, scoring 39 points in the first quarter and hitting 6 of 11 from 3-point range to take a 39–38 lead — the highest-scoring quarter in the 143-game history between the teams.
Miami cooled off in the second quarter, scoring just 26 points as Orlando took a 69–65 lead into halftime.
The Heat’s shooting struggles continued in the second half, hitting only 1 of 8 from beyond the arc in the third, though their defense kept the game close. Miami led 91–90 entering the fourth quarter.
The Heat built a seven-point lead midway through the final period but went more than four minutes without a field goal. Jalen Suggs put the Magic ahead for good with a midrange jumper with 58.7 seconds remaining.
The loss marked Miami’s second straight season-opening defeat against Orlando.
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The Heat look to bounce back Friday when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Pablo Hernandez
Pablo Hernandez is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. He was born in Cuba and has lived in Miami, Florida since 2002.
When our Miami Dolphins are struggling, the attendance of their games at home naturally dips quite a bit. This, of course, comes with the territory, especially for the fans that reside in South Florida, where there’s always plenty of other things you can be doing with your time and money almost any day of the year. Now, though, we are facing a new season, and we do not expect the team to be great, but due to the new regime and the massive overhaul of the roster, there is, at the very least, a ton of curiosity among many of us fans. We all want to see what theis new coaching staff and new players will give us even if the final product is still at least another season or a couple of seasons away.
So this evenings Phinsider Question Of The Day is:
Which of you will, or will try to either go to a home and/or away Miami Dolphins game in person for this upcoming season?
Please share your thoughts and answers in the comments section below-
Few would disagree that the Miami Dolphins’ best overall player, pound-for-pound, is running back De’Von Achane. There’ll be no argument from me on that front. A player who could get some votes from defensive-minded fans might be linebacker Jordyn Brooks — another fantastic contributor who’s been the heart and soul of the defense for the past two seasons.
Ahead of the 2025 season, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was consistently drawing rave reviews from reporters covering practice sessions. He made good on that billing by excelling in the team’s exhibition games. While fans lamented his lack of playing time, the reality was he was buried behind Brooks and the rock-solid Tyrel Dodson on the depth chart. The situation was painfully similar for second-year running back Ollie Gordon II.
Despite showing some flashes early in the season in short-yardage situations, Gordon’s usage was sporadic. He only reached double-digit carries once, in the Week 8 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons. On one hand, it’s a fantastic thing that De’Von Achane was healthy for 16 of 17 games — on the other, Gordon represents a perfect complement to the diminutive and speedy Achane, and increased usage could make good on that potential.
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The Dolphins’ new offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik, used evocative language that forecasts a bigger role for Gordon in 2026, should he seize the opportunity.
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“The biggest thing with Ollie is not only is he big — he runs big. When we have pads on, you’re going to hear him run. It’s not one where he’s just going to silently kind of sneak through the line of scrimmage. Everyone’s going to feel — it’s going to sound like trash cans are banging back there. There’s something to that. The O-Line gets energy from that when they feel the physicality from a runner.”
The Achane–Gordon pairing at running back is oozing with potential — as long as the Miami Dolphins are willing to commit to it
De’Von Achane is listed officially at 5’9″ and 191 pounds, while Gordon II clocks in at 6’2″ and 225 pounds. The pairing is a perfect recipe to keep a defense as off-balance as possible. Achane is quick enough to dodge raindrops — for a defense to go from trying to catch a rabbit to bracing for a runaway train from one play to the next is the kind of offensive strategy that could pay huge dividends.
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Gordon’s body of work in the NFL doesn’t jump off the page. His 70 carries for 199 yards (2.8 per-carry-average) with three TDs don’t necessarily scream superstar in the making. It’s important to note, though, that he often got the call in short-yardage situations.
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Gordon had 25 rushes on downs where the line to gain was one, two, or three yards. After converting on eight of his first 10 attempts (80%), he only converted eight of the final 15 (53.3%). For the season, he converted on 64% of his short-yardage attempts. Among 68 running backs who had at least 10 attempts in short-yardage last season, Gordon’s 64% ranked 29th.
While hardly a comparison to these backs’ overall body of work, respected and proven stars such as Bijan Robinson (60.87%, 43rd), Saquon Barkley (59.38%, 47th), and Derrick Henry (55%, 55th) are prime examples that it’s not all on the RB. Anyone out there who chooses to label Derrick Henry a liability in short yardage should do so at their own risk. Once again, not a comparison. Just an observation.
The hope is that with first-round pick Kadyn Proctor joining the team, the Dolphins may see a surge from their interior offensive line. At 6’7″ and 352 pounds, Proctor will never fail due to a lack of size or athletic ability. This is truly a rare athlete with a unique build — he’ll go as far as his work ethic takes him. If you’ve started to notice a “largeness” theme emanating from South Florida, it’s intentional.
Jon-Eric Sullivan discussed the concept in one of his introductory press conferences, stating: “There’s a saying in our business, fast gets slow but big doesn’t get small.” Well, sir, we heard you, but after the draft and free agency, now we see you. We’ll have to wait to see how it translates, but no one can say Sullivan wasn’t about what he said.
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Ollie Gordon II — Dolphins fans hope you’re listening. The marriage between Gordon’s playstyle and the new coaching staff’s tenets is a match made in heaven. If he makes good on his own athletic gifts and untapped potential, the Dolphins may well have their next Ricky Williams in the building.
In one of Kdog’s (Kevin Dolney, for the newer folks) recent editions of the Splash Zone, he pointed to an article by A to Z Sports. In the article, A to Z Sports points to Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane and how he could be the first player for the team and only the fourth player in NFL history to reach a thousand yards in both rushing and receiving. The only other players to ever accomplish this rare feat were the San Francisco 49ers’ Roger Craig in 1985, the St Louis Rams’ Marshall Faulk in 1999, and the Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey in 2019.
Achane, if you believe the reports or maybe just in the fact that he’s easily the most talented player on offense, will be, or at least should be, much of the focus on offense this coming season. Achane, if nothing else, has proven dependable and downright electric at times. What he lacks in size, he seems to make up for in durability and pure speed. Besides being clearly the best all-around running back on the team, he has also shown that he is one of the most dependable receivers on the roster. With the loss of Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, he might be at this point the best receiver on the team, although I hope that title eventually goes to rookie Chris Bell once he returns from the injury that he suffered in his SR year at Louisville.
So this evening’s Phinsider Question Of The Day is:
Do you believe that Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane will enter the very exclusive club of players who have hit both 1,000 yards in both receiving and rushing for the 2026-2027 NFL season?
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Please share your thoughts and answers in the comments section below-