Miami's Video Game Lineup Is Finally Starting Together, But The Heat Are Still 3-5

The Miami Heat just dropped their starting five for Thursday's game against the Golden State Warriors, and it reads like a glitch in the simulation: Donovan Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Bam Adebayo.

If you showed this lineup to a basketball fan five years ago, they would assume Pat Riley discovered a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement or hypnotized half the league's front offices. It is an objectively hilarious collection of talent to see wearing the same jersey.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert on Thursday."

But here is the funniest part about assembling a real-life Monstars squad: they are currently 3-5. Despite Giannis pulling down 12.5 rebounds a night and Mitchell dishing out 8.3 assists, Miami has stumbled out of the gates with a negative 4.7 net rating that ranks in the bottom third of the league.

They did finally show a pulse on Wednesday night. Klay turned back the clock against the Los Angeles Clippers, dropping 30 points and burying a game-winning three in overtime to secure a 117-116 victory.

For anyone staring at the prop markets, this starting five creates an absolute nightmare for usage rates. When you have four guys who are used to being the primary or secondary option on a championship contender, figuring out who gets the ball in the fourth quarter is a nightly guessing game.

Now this massive roster experiment takes its talents to the Bay Area to face the 5-3 Warriors. We are about to find out if Wednesday's overtime thriller was the turning point for this superteam, or just a brief distraction from the fact that you still only get to play with one basketball.