The Miami Heat’s first game of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era did not go the way anybody in South Beach wanted. Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves took control, and Miami spent most of the night trying to catch up.
Edwards’ strong night only added to the sting. The win moved him to a career 10-3 against Miami, and it served as an early look at where the Heat stand right now. It is just one game in an 82-game season, but it also made clear that Miami has some work to do before it starts looking like the team it wants to become.
Giannis still provided the brightest spot for Miami. He opened his Heat career with 35 points, which is the most points ever in a Miami debut.
He looked energetic, scored with ease, and was basically the only reliable offense Miami had all night. Based on that debut, he looks ready to force the league to remember exactly who he is.
That kind of showing only deepened the sense that Miami may need to lean on him heavily. He is going to have to play 30+ minutes a night for the Heat and will average 30+ points.
The bigger issue was what happened behind him. The preseason concerns about secondary playmaking showed up right away.
Miami needed either Giannis or Davion Mitchell on the floor just to keep the offense moving, and when both were off the court, there was no real fallback. Nikola Jovic struggled, Pelle Larsson had a poor night, and there does not seem to be another natural secondary creator in the mix.
Kyrie Irving remains the big rumored trade this year, but does it even make sense for Miami?
The Heat also got beaten at their own game. They could not get out in transition because they could not rebound, and that kept Minnesota in control. Miami looked like it was chasing the Timberwolves for most of the night, and the combination of defense, trouble generating open looks, and a lack of cohesion left the Heat a step behind from start to finish.
Those reactions may be exaggerated after one game, but they are still tied to what happened in the opener.
There is also no reason to treat this as anything more than a first read on a new team. Miami opened against an elite opponent in the Timberwolves, which at least gave the Heat a clear baseline to measure against as they try to improve. The frustration came from the effort and communication slipping as the game got worse, but this is still a new group in South Beach.
It was not the start Miami wanted. Still, it was only night one, and Rome wasn’t built in a day.
In Other News...
Shaq Just Put Minnesotas LaMelo Ball Situation Under A Real Spotlight
LaMelo Balls recent turn on Inside the NBA offered a window into how he views his first season with the Timberwolves, and it was pretty simple: he is not walking around with a rigid set of team goals. Ball said he prefers to focus on bringing his best effort, a measured answer that fits a player still settling into a new situation while also talking about life off the court, from changing his sons diapers to getting a feel for playing alongside Anthony Edwards.
Shaquille ONeal, though, clearly saw it differently and used the segment to put Minnesotas bigger-picture pressure on display. ONeal pushed back on Balls approach and framed the move to Minnesota as the kind of addition that should raise the teams ambitions in a major way, which is exactly why the exchange landed as more than just a quick TV moment. It also underscored how much attention Balls fit with Edwards is already drawing, even before the season really gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Opening Night Exposed One Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Minnesota opened its regular-season schedule with a win over Miami, but the bigger takeaway from opening night was how much the Timberwolves leaned on their new backcourt to survive the early push. Anthony Edwards led the way with a huge scoring night, while LaMelo Ball added timely perimeter shooting in a debut that gave the offense a different kind of juice. The guard play was the clear strength, and it helped Minnesota mask some of the uneven stretches that showed up elsewhere.
The frontcourt, though, is already something to watch. Minnesota had trouble early defending a bigger, physical attack, and the game turned into a reminder that the Wolves can be stretched when opponents go after their smaller bigs. The good news was that the team tightened things up after halftime and found a way to limit Bam Adebayos influence, but the questions around how this group handles elite interior pressure are not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Turned Heat Bench Chatter Into A Superstar Reminder
Bench chatter from the Heat didnt go unnoticed in Minnesotas win, and it ended up giving Anthony Edwards an easy little edge to lean on. The Timberwolves star heard the talk, kept his focus and put together one of those nights that reminds everyone why he changes a game so quickly when he gets rolling from deep.
Afterward, the exchange drew a predictable response from Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, who suggested Gardner ought to be a little more careful with that kind of talk when he is not on the floor. The Heat like the edge Gardner brings and understand the fire behind it, but there is a fine line between competitive and combustible, especially when the target is a scorer like Edwards. [Read more 🡒]