The Miami Heat’s early-season story has turned into a mixed bag, and the latest NBA 2K ratings reflect that split pretty clearly. While Giannis Antetokounmpo keeps doing Giannis Antetokounmpo things, a few other veterans on Miami’s new-look roster are either holding steady or trying to climb out of a rough opening stretch.
Antetokounmpo sits at a 96 overall, unchanged from last week, and he’s been the one steady force in Miami’s uneven start. He’s still playing at an MVP level and hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down in his new setting.
Bam Adebayo also stays put at 87 overall, even though his season has been more turbulent. He’s had an inconsistent start in the frontcourt next to Antetokounmpo, and after Miami opened the year winless, he took plenty of the blame. Still, his play has picked up lately, and he’s beginning to look more like the version fans have grown used to over the past several seasons.
Klay Thompson got a small bump, moving from 78 to 79 overall. His start was rocky, but he’s been heating up for Miami recently.
That showed most clearly Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, when he posted his best game of the season and helped fuel an overtime win after the Heat erased a 20-point halftime deficit. He’s not the same player he was in Golden State, but he remains a dangerous shooter, hitting 42.5 percent from three-point range this season.
Davion Mitchell also climbed, jumping from 77 to 79 overall. He’s been one of the more unexpected bright spots in the early going.
After being solid in a role last season, he appears to have taken another step playing alongside Antetokounmpo. With an expiring contract, he’s putting himself in position for a strong payday this summer, whether that comes from Miami or somewhere else.
Bobby Portis, meanwhile, has had a disappointing start since arriving in the summer trade with Antetokounmpo. His shooting has been off, his overall splits have dipped, and the early returns haven’t been encouraging. There’s still reason to believe he can find his footing again, but so far, it hasn’t been a smooth ride.
In Other News...
Heat Suddenly Have A Lineup Debate Fans Never Expected
The Heats uneven opening has already pushed Erik Spoelstra into a familiar kind of early-season search, and this one is centered on how to get more reliable production around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Miami is off to a 3-6 start, and the lack of consistent help has made every rotation decision feel a little heavier than usual. Amid that frustration, Pelle Larsson has emerged as one of the more interesting names in the mix after showing better shooting and assist numbers than he did a year ago.
Larssons rise has been enough to spark real talk about whether Spoelstra might be tempted to move him into the starting lineup, even if the evidence is still coming from a small sample. For a team trying to stop the slide and rediscover some balance, the idea is less about making a splash than finding a five-man group that can actually stabilize possessions and support the stars more cleanly. The Heat do not need a headline-grabbing fix so much as a workable one, and this is one lineup question they probably did not expect to be asking so soon. [Read more 🡒]
Heat Slow Start Keeps Pointing To Three Problems Spoelstra Must Fix
The Heats uneven start has left Erik Spoelstra staring at a familiar kind of early-season puzzle: a team that can look organized in stretches, then drift into the same trouble spots that keep showing up on both ends of the floor. At 3-6, Miami has not been able to string together enough consistent offense or defense to settle in, and the numbers point to a few specific areas where the margin for error has been too thin.
Miami has been efficient when it does use pick-and-roll action, but it has not leaned on it often enough, and the spacing around those possessions has not always helped. The other issues are just as obvious, with spot-up jumpers producing too little and opponents finding too much success from three-point range. For a team that expects to tighten up as the season goes on, those are the kinds of problems that can keep a slow start from turning into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]
Andrew Wiggins Is Becoming A Real Heat Concern Early
Andrew Wiggins early stretch in Miami has become one of the more notable subplots around a Heat team that is still trying to find its footing at 3-6. Through nine games, Wiggins has been working to settle in alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the production has been modest so far, and the Heat are clearly looking for more from a player who was brought in to help raise the level of the group.
The concern around Wiggins has gone beyond the box score, too, with some outside chatter suggesting his edge may not be quite where it was before he secured his contract extension. Whether that proves to be fair or not, the Heat need the version of Wiggins who can bring consistent energy and impact while he adjusts to a new role, because early-season patience only lasts so long when the results are not there. [Read more 🡒]