The Miami Heat had a good showing in their preseason debut, but Giannis Antetokounmpo knows that if this team is going to hit their goals for this season, they still have some issues to fix. In the eyes of Giannis, the most important issue that they need to solve is their spacing.
As many have echoed throughout the offseason, since the Heat's acquisition of Giannis, the issue of "spacing" has been the big elephant in the room. There's no denying the talent on the Heat's roster. Giannis and Bam Adebayo are a uniquely talented 1-2 punch.
But if the Heat is going to consider their year one of the Giannis experiment a success, there's no question that the spacing, especially with the way this roster is built, will have to be just right.
“We’ve played enough. Obviously, we’ve practiced four or five times and played one game. We’ll continue to build that chemistry and find ways to be efficient with one another. But the most important thing is going to be spacing and figuring out how not to get in each other’s way.”
The Heat's spacing could be an issue all season long
There was some evidence of this in the preseason opener. Despite the fact that the Heat scored 76 points in the first half, largely with their "regulars," there were times when the offense, especially with the starters, looked a little forced. The spacing wasn't perfect, and there were times when Bam and Giannis were kind of "clashing" with each other or overpassing.
While some of that could be solved with growing chemistry, there's also a sense that spacing was at the head of those issues, too. Or at least played a small part in them.
That's why the effectiveness of Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. is so crucial for this team this season. They're the two 3-point shooting specialists. They're the two players who are supposed to help make the spacing work while on the floor with Giannis and Bam.
And, to the Heat's defense, some of that was on display in the preseason opener. The attention that Thompson was demanding on the perimeter helped open the lanes in the paint for Giannis, who took advantage.
But even despite that, as Giannis admits, the Heat are still trying to get to a place where it's ingrained in their chemistry and cohesion on the floor together. The sky is the limit for the Heat, but they're not accomplishing anything this season if the spacing isn't right.
The fact that Giannis admits that in open conversations just tells you how much of a priority it has to be behind closed doors in the team meetings and practices.
As we get deeper into the preseason and eventually enter the start of the regular season, that's certainly one very important thing to keep a close eye on.
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