One of the bigger early-season storylines for the Miami Heat will revolve around what the offense looks like in year one with Giannis Antetokounmpo. While there are no simple answers until we actually see Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra share his vision in training camp, there are a few assumptions that can be made.
And Heat writer Ira Winderman hinted at one of them when he revealed that the Heat will likely utilize an "inside-out" offensive approach with Giannis this season.
Asked about whether the Heat will embrace a 3-point happy offense around Giannis, Winderman gave direct insight into what we can expect from the offensive philosophy this season.
"And inside-out it will be for the Heat, with Giannis Antetokounmpo initiating and perhaps Davion Mitchell, with his drives, as well. Even with Bam Adebayo’s dribble-handoffs, it will be a 3-point attack built around the inside threat."
Erik Spoelstra will give Giannis freedom to roam the paint
Again, we don't know exactly what the Heat's offense will look like with Giannis, but it's safe to say that they're going to play inside-out. As Winderman points out, it's the safest assumption now that Giannis is on the roster.
Knowing the way Spoelstra operates, he's going to give Giannis freedom to roam the paint and attack at will. The idea (or hope) is that Giannis' ability to aggressively attack the paint will open up shooters on the perimeter.
That's part of the reason why it was so important for the Heat to bring in shooters after the move for Giannis. Miami needed to solidify their 3-point prowess, and that's hopefully where Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson will pay dividends.
But especially for the new-look Heat, their offense is going to begin with a strong paint presence. Whether it's Giannis, Bam Adebayo, or even Davion Mitchell driving, that's going to fuel their offense.
Assuming this is going to be the fundamental part of the Heat's offense, it's easy to understand why there were so many questions about whether they had enough 3-point shooting on their roster.
After all, even though paint drives are going to be a big part of the offense, it's their 3-point ability that is going to determine whether they can keep defenses honest. If the Heat aren't a strong enough threat from 3-point range, defenses are just going to load the paint.
Without the Heat's ability to stretch the defense, it's going to make their spacing become a much bigger issue.
Time will tell whether the Heat successfully built a capable supporting cast around Giannis or not, but it's safe to say we know more or less what the heart of the Heat's offense is going to be built around.
Giannis' ability to drive to the basket at will. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that.
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