In recent years, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been a real thorn in the side of the Miami Heat. In their last 10 matchups (which span over five years), the Heat are just 2-8 against the Timberwolves. The hope is that, in the Heat's home opener on Wednesday night, that trend will finally end thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
There will certainly be a handful of new faces on both the Heat and Timberwolves when the two meet in the season opener. For Minnesota, Jonathan Kuminga and LaMelo Ball headlined an offseason of change. The Heat will also integrate the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr., Klay Thompson, and Bobby Portis as new additions from this past summer.
However, no newcomer, on either side, is as big as Giannis. And Miami is hoping he's the one player who flips the recent trend between the Heat and Timberwolves upside down.
Heat-Wolves headlines one of the most anticipated games of opening week
Looking across the NBA landscape, there's an argument to be made that there aren't many games on opening night with more intrigue (from fans) than the Heat and Timberwolves. While all the attention will revolve around Giannis and the Heat, and understandably so, there is another layer of added interest with the Timberwolves' new-look backcourt.
The addition of Ball for the Timberwolves hasn't gotten a ton of national attention, but it's quite possibly one of the more interesting experiments in the entire league.
When the initial trade happened, it immediately felt as if it was one of those "video-game-type" moves that you just don't know how it will end up playing out. Even though they've certainly had flashes of brilliance in the preseason, it's one of those pairings that could be great or a complete disaster. And, honestly, it wouldn't be all that surprising either way.
But that volatility of such a move is part of what makes it so interesting.
Miami is hoping that works in their favor, at least on opening night. As the Timberwolves continue to work toward building chemistry with their new dynamic duo, the Heat, with Giannis, have looked like a well-oiled machine in the preseason.
While it certainly hasn't been perfect, during the minutes that Giannis has been on the floor for the Heat, they've looked like a completely different team. They don't just look good; they look like they're going to pose many problems in the Eastern Conference. This is not the same old Heat that consistently struggled with the modern Timberwolves and their style of play.
What better way to test that hypothesis than for the Heat to face off against a team that they've struggled mightily against over the past five years?
Thanks to Giannis, the Heat might finally be ready to exorcise their Timberwolves demons. And if they do manage to pull it off, it could just be the start of what may end up being a very memorable first season for Giannis in Miami.
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