It’s still early in the season, but it might not be too early for the Miami Heat to make a change to its starting lineup. That’s because it has been an underwhelming start to the season for the Heat and its starting group.

The Heat opened its important (and challenging) six-game trip with a 115-112 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night at Footprint Center. The Heat is now 3-4 this season.

The Heat’s starting lineup of Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo has been outscored by 16.6 points per 100 possessions in 85 minutes together through the first seven games of the season. Among the 23 lineups around the NBA that entered Thursday with 50 or minutes played together, the Heat’s starting unit holds the second-worst net rating.

So, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a change midway through Wednesday’s game against the Suns. Spoelstra played forward Haywood Highsmith in Jovic’s spot to begin the second half.

“I wanted to keep Bam on [Jusuf Nurkic], to keep him comfortable under the rim,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat set to continue its trip on Friday in snowy Denver against the Nuggets at Ball Arena (9 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network — Sun). “And H [Highsmith] had given us good minutes in that first half, and we were looking to do something just to change the energy of these third quarters. It had nothing to do with Niko.”

So was the switch to Highsmith just a one-game move based on the Heat’s matchup against the Suns? Or will the Heat open Friday’s game against the Nuggets with a new starting lineup that features Highsmith instead of Jovic?

“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” Spoelstra said when asked that question following Wednesday’s loss in Phoenix. “Look, this is quarter to quarter, game to game. Nothing is in concrete where we are right now.”

But there’s no doubt that Highsmith made the most of his opportunity against the Suns, albeit in a loss. While defending future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant for most of the night, Highsmith also recorded 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range, seven rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes.

With Highsmith opening the second half in Jovic’s place, the Heat began the third quarter on a 16-12 run to push its three-point halftime lead up to a seven-point advantage before making its first substitution of the period. When the night was done, the Heat outscored the Suns by three points in the 17 minutes that the Rozier-Herro-Butler-Highsmith-Adebayo lineup played together on Wednesday.

“Just energy and effort, being able to guard,” Herro said of what Highsmith brought to that group. “We needed someone to guard KD.”

With Highsmith playing in that lineup and serving as the primary defender on Durant, it allowed Adebayo to guard Suns 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic. This came after Adebayo opened the game on Durant while Jovic defended Nurkic, but Nurkic’s size gave Jovic issues.

This is one of the reasons that Jovic never re-entered the game after playing the first 5:16 of the opening period.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Jovic said of not opening Wednesday’s second half in his usual starting spot. “Lately, the first unit has been struggling a little bit and I guess coach was trying to find the right matchups. H did a good job against KD in the first half. Coach told me before we went out that he’s going to play him and just stay ready.”

That “stay ready” approach is one that Highsmith has also needed to have this season. Before Wednesday’s opportunity to play 30-plus minutes, Highsmith received two DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) during the first six games of the season as his role has fluctuated early on.

“I’m, in a sense, used to this,” said Highsmith, who re-signed with the Heat in free agency this past summer on a two-year contract worth $10.8 million. “Some games, I might not be in the rotation or I might be in the rotation. I’m always going to be ready no matter what.”

What’s clear is that Jovic, 21, and Highsmith, 27, bring different skill sets to the starting group.

Jovic brings size at 6-foot-10, can be a connector as a quality passer, has a knack for pushing the pace when there’s an opportunity and can help space the floor with his three-point shooting. But through the first seven games of the season, Jovic has shot just 8 of 26 (30.8 percent) from three-point range while only averaging 3.9 rebounds per game and sometimes struggling to defend bigger players.

“I won’t say I was great,” Jovic said when asked to evaluate his performance through the first two weeks of the season. “I mean, you got to play good defense. And the shots you get, you got to make them, especially with that first unit. Even though if maybe those are not the shots that you want to take, you have to take them. I didn’t make a lot of them. I’m for sure not happy. I know I’m a lot better than that.”

Highsmith is a three-and-D option who is one of the Heat’s top defenders, can also help space the floor with his three-point shooting and has improved as a finisher around the basket with the development of his effective floater. But he lacks the passing and ball-handling creativity that Jovic adds to the starting group. Highsmith’s three-point volume is also lower than Jovic’s, as Highsmith is averaging just 1.8 three-point attempts to Jovic’s 3.7 three-point attempts per game this season.

“He was guarding,” Butler said when asked how Highsmith helped on Wednesday. “[Durant] hit some tough shots. Then H was also being aggressive in making shots and making the right play, putting the ball on the floor and passing the ball. The more confidence he plays with, the more it’s going to look better for everybody.”

On Friday against the Nuggets, Jovic could be back in the starting lineup or Highsmith might start his first game of the season. The Heat also has a few other other viable options to makes changes to its starting group like moving Jaime Jaquez Jr. into the starting lineup over both Jovic and Highsmith.

Whatever happens, the Heat is clearly searching for solutions early this season.

“I really hope so because I really think I’m trying to help the first unit,” Jovic said when asked if he hopes to remain a starter. “But you never know. It is not an easy job. ... I really hope I’m back. If I’m not, there will be more chances. Last year was the same type of thing, so I know I’ll be back.”