Bill Simmons has spent the offseason questioning the Miami Heat, but one preseason look at Giannis might be enough to make him pause.
“I’m really fighting off the urge to wonder if I might’ve been wrong to be too glass half empty on Miami,” Simmons said. “I watched some of their preseason game, Giannis looks great. Obviously their swing guy is Wiggins.”
That’s the part that jumps out most: Giannis changes the whole conversation. Once he’s coming downhill in transition, defenses stop worrying so much about their own man and start loading up on the 6-foot-11 force barreling toward the rim in a handful of steps. That kind of attention opens everything else.
Miami already got a taste of that in the preseason. Giannis wasn’t just hunting his own shot - he was looking to create for teammates, too. If the Heat can get into the open floor more often this season, the ripple effect should be obvious: more clean threes, more easy chances, more possessions where the defense is simply scrambling to keep up.
That’s a different world from the version of Miami that has spent years grinding through possessions and relying on Erik Spoelstra to squeeze offense out of lineups that didn’t always have a clear edge. With Giannis, the edge is built in. The offense can start with pressure instead of setup.
Simmons also singled out Andrew Wiggins, and that part makes sense. “Wiggins is in a nice spot,” Simmons said. “This is the perfect situation for him because Giannis gets all attention, Heat culture, Spoelstra.”
That role fits him neatly. He can defend, run, cut, attack closeouts, and take advantage of the shots that appear when defenses collapse around Giannis and Bam.
Some nights, opponents are going to dare somebody else to beat them. If Wiggins turns those openings into efficient offense while handling tough defensive work, Miami gets a major boost.
And while Simmons was focused on the offense, the defense may be the more intriguing part of all this. Giannis and Bam Adebayo already give Spoelstra a pairing he’s never had before. Add Wiggins on the wing, Davion Mitchell at the point of attack, and the rest of Miami’s defensive options, and the matchup hunt gets a lot harder for opposing teams.
Giannis said at media day that everybody can “guard their yard,” and that idea fits what Miami is trying to build. Spoelstra doesn’t have to spend every possession hiding somebody or covering for a weak link. He can switch, pressure, and get aggressive, with Giannis and Bam working in different ways instead of constantly bailing others out.
There are still real questions here. The Giannis-Bam fit, the shooting, Wiggins’ consistency, and how Spoelstra puts all of it together are all fair concerns. One preseason game doesn’t settle any of that.
But it did give everyone a first real look at the idea in motion. Giannis pushed the pace, created for others, and forced multiple defenders to react. Miami had room to work because of the attention he commanded, and it was easy to see how much simpler the offense gets when the best player on the floor makes the defense move before anything else even starts.
In Other News...
Tim Hardaway Jr Could Be The Heat's Real Swing Piece
Miamis offseason overhaul has been about more than just landing star power. Alongside the arrivals of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis, the Heat added Tim Hardaway Jr. to help address a long-standing need on the perimeter, a move that fits neatly with the later signing of Klay Thompson and the decision to keep Simone Fontecchio in the mix. Hardaway brings both spacing and a track record that suggests he can fit into a rotation built to punish teams for helping off the arc.
What makes him especially interesting is the way his profile could matter in bigger moments. Hardaway shot a career-high 40.7 percent from three last season with Denver and has been through the playoff grind before from his time with Dallas, giving Miami another proven shooter with some postseason scars. In a group already reshaped by major additions, the question is whether Hardaway ends up being just part of the shooting depth or the player who quietly decides how far this new-look Heat team can go. [Read more 🡒]
Klay Thompson Looks Like Miamis Best Bet In A Crucial Battle
The Heats preseason search for a starting shooting guard has become one of the more interesting early lineup decisions, and Klay Thompson is making a strong case simply by being the kind of reliable perimeter threat Miami has long valued at the position. Even with a scoreless preseason outing, Thompson still looks like the cleanest fit for a role that has often been defined by spacing, experience and the ability to punish defenses from the arc, which keeps him in the center of the conversation alongside Tim Hardaway Jr. and Pelle Larsson.
Hardaway brings his own proven shooting profile, but Thompsons track record and feel for the role give him an edge in a competition that feels less about upside than immediate trust. Larssons recent contract extension points to a longer-term future in the mix, but the Heat are still sorting out the present, and the starting job appears to be a battle between established options before the younger piece is ready to take the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Suddenly Have A New Guard Worth Watching In Camp
Tre Donaldson put himself on the radar in a hurry during the Heats annual Red, White and Pink scrimmage, pacing the team with 25 points while also showing the kind of scoring and playmaking that can separate a camp invite from the pack. With Miami sorting through its backcourt options, every clean possession and every steady decision matters more than usual, and Donaldson clearly gave the coaching staff something to file away.
The timing only adds to the intrigue. Dru Smith is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a calf injury, leaving Erik Spoelstra to keep evaluating the guard room and other possible ball-handling answers. Spoelstra also singled out Ryan Conwell as another camp player making an impression, which suggests this part of camp is less about filling out reps and more about finding who can be trusted when the Heat need help in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]