The Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 128-118 in their second preseason game, but the story was Klay Thompson. After a slow preseason debut for Klay, he more than made up for it in the Heat's second exhibition game.
Klay had a much more aggressive showing in his preseason encore for the Heat and, even though the efficiency hasn't shown up yet, it's his willingness to pull the trigger that is proving to be the perfect spacing guard next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In 14 minutes, Klay finished with five points, three assists, three blocks, two rebounds, and one steal on 2-for-7 shooting from the field (1-for-6 from the 3-point range).
Klay Thompson is the spacing fixer-upper the Heat needs next to Giannis
The shot-making and efficiency will come. If there's anything on this Heat team that could be relied on, it's the fact that Klay's shot will eventually start falling. I can't imagine there's much concern about that from the coaching staff.
Because of that, it's easy to see that Klay's aggressive nature is what Spoelstra needs in the lineup next to Giannis.
Even if Klay isn't hitting now, the defense needs to respect it. They can't leave him alone, no matter how much Giannis may be hammering the defense in the paint. And the threat of Klay on the perimeter is the exact spacing that this starting 5 needs.
It's the perfect threat that the Heat need to keep defenses honest when their starting 5 is on the floor. That's just another reason why keeping Klay in the starting 5 makes a ton of sense. It's also the reason why the addition of Klay is going to be remembered as one of the most underrated moves from the Heat this offseason.
When the acquisition of Giannis became official, it was difficult to envision how the Heat was going to effectively address their spacing issues. However, they managed to seemingly do that with one move: the Klay signing. Now we're seeing it all play out in preseason.
As long as Klay is on the floor for the Heat, defenses can't throw the extra defender or two at Giannis without getting punished for it. That's the value of having a player like Klay on the floor next to Giannis.
Sure, it would be great to see a bit more efficient play from Klay, but again, that will come. In his "worst" 3-point shooting season of his career, Klay still hit at a 38 percent clip. Even if he has that type of shooting season, that'd be a win for the Heat.
Despite his shaky shooting start to the preseason, Klay's aggressiveness continues to prove why he's the Heat's perfect answer to their spacing concerns in the starting 5 next to Giannis.
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