Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't waste much time reminding the rest of the league just how good he still is. Even though the Miami Heat fell in their season opener at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves (who looked quite good in their own right) 131-106, Giannis was still the story of the night for the Heat.
Because of the sports debate climate that we live in, there's a chance that Giannis' performance in the season opener will be overshadowed by how good the Wolves looked. However, it shouldn't.
Giannis officially finished with 35 points and six rebounds on 13-for-19 shooting from the field.
The Heat should be elated by what they saw from Giannis
The Heat may have lost, and there are going to be real concerns about their 3-point shooting and playmaking, but Miami should feel really good about what they saw from Giannis in his first regular-season game of the year. If there were any concerns or questions about his demise, those are pretty laughable at the moment.
In a matter of one game, Giannis managed to reestablish himself as one of the most dominant players in the league. If he can continue to remain healthy, I can't imagine there will be much pushback against the idea that he's still a top-5 player in the league.
The Heat lost the opener, but they should feel like winners when thinking about everything from a macro perspective. Because if this is the Giannis that they're going to get over the course of the season, they'll be in a really good spot. Give Erik Spoelstra time, and he'll figure out how to maximize this team around Giannis. He always seems to come through.
On a night when it seemed as if almost all of the Heat's supporting cast had a bad night, Giannis did just enough to feed into Heat fans' hope despite the loss. The story of the game will be the Wolves and how good they looked. After all, Anthony Edwards finished with 45 points himself, and he, along with LaMelo Ball, combined to hit 14 3-pointers on the night.
At least on night one, the Wolves did look every bit the Western Conference contender that many expect them to be. For the Heat, though, Giannis also looked every bit as advertised.
The haters can (and probably will) relish this opening night loss for the Heat. But make no mistake, Giannis just announced himself as still one of, if not the best players in the league. And once the Heat figure it out, they're going to be a scary team in the Eastern Conference, led by one of the hungriest (and most dominant) players ever.
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