Everyone is going to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo and what he does for the Miami Heat offensively. I get it, you don’t add a player like Giannis and then not spend most of the offseason talking about how he’s going to change your team.
I’m starting to think we’re overlooking the scarier part of this Heat roster. How are teams supposed to score on these guys? Seriously. Just look at Miami’s starting five and try to find the obvious player an offense is going to attack. That player is obviously Klay Thompson, but he has so many reinforcements.
Davion Mitchell is one of the best point-of-attack defenders at his position. Andrew Wiggins gives Miami another long, athletic wing who can take difficult assignments. Then, if you actually get past those two, you still have to deal with Bam Adebayo and Giannis.
Bam And Giannis Together Changes Everything
We’ve watched Adebayo do basically everything defensively for Miami for years. He has had to guard 1-5 every single season. He is tasked with guarding the perimeter, helping at the rim, and cleaning up another player’s mistake.
Sometimes it feels like Miami has asked Bam to be three defenders at once. Now he has Giannis next to him, and the league should be scared.
These two are so versatile; they can protect the paint, and both can defend away from the basket. If Bam gets switched onto a guard 25 feet from the rim, Miami doesn’t suddenly have a wide-open paint behind him anymore.
The same thing works in reverse. Giannis can be aggressive as a help defender knowing Adebayo is somewhere behind the play.
Who Are Teams Going To Hunt?
That’s what keeps bringing me back to the potential of this defense.
NBA offenses will find your weakest defender. They’ll run actions until they get the matchup they want and then attack it over and over.
Against this Miami starting group, what’s the matchup you want? I mentioned Klay earlier, but even Klay should be fine if he is a starter.
There will obviously be ways to score against Miami. This isn’t going to be some perfect defense that never gives up 120 points. This team will be tough to score against, and they have the personnel to make things difficult for opposing teams.
Mitchell can pressure the ball, Wiggins can handle bigger wings, Bam can switch all over the place, and Giannis can erase mistakes around the basket.
Miami can be physical without constantly being undersized, too.
The Bench Has Some Dogs, Too
Pelle Larsson is someone I’m expecting to take another step this season. He’s physical, he competes and he’s not afraid of anybody. He’s exactly the type of player Spoelstra can throw into a game when Miami needs energy.
Then there’s Dru Smith. Smith might not get talked about nearly as much as the bigger names on this roster, but defensively, he fits what Miami wants. He pressures guards, plays hard, and doesn’t need touches to impact a game.
Miami has also added more size throughout the roster.
That’s another difference I think could matter over 82 games. The Heat shouldn’t have to constantly compensate for being smaller at certain positions. They have legitimate size, athleticism, and versatility now.
Top Five Should Be The Expectation
With this personnel and Spoelstra coaching it, Miami should be a top-five defensive team.
Honestly, if we’re sitting halfway through the season and the Heat are 12th or 13th in defensive rating, I’ll be disappointed. That defense should be special, and it could also be the reason Miami wins a lot more games.
There will be games where the Heat win because they simply make the other team uncomfortable for four quarters.
Giannis is obviously the biggest reason expectations have changed in Miami. But I don’t think we should only be talking about what he adds offensively.
He might help turn an already talented defensive group into one of the nastiest defenses in basketball.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
