This summer, the Miami Heat handed Pelle Larsson a brand new contract. They gave him a four-year, $60 million deal, meaning he will make around $15 million per season. That’s the type of money you hand out to an important rotation piece. A guy who can give you solid two-way play every night. That’s what Larsson is supposed to be. But in the Heat’s opener on Wednesday night, he wasn’t that.
Miami got blown out of the water on Wednesday, losing 131-106 to a new-look Minnesota Timberwolves squad that attempted 50 threes (and made 21 of them). Giannis Antetokounmpo looks great, but outside of that, everyone struggled. Including Larsson – the new, $60 million man.
It’s a long season. Larsson has more than enough time to turn things around. In fact, he has 81 games left to do so. But in the meantime, as overreactions flood in, his new deal is certainly going to be questioned.
Pelle Larsson needs to be better
In an ideal world, Larsson is supposed to be a defensive force for the Heat. A guy who can guard great players on one end and nail his threes and drive to the hoop a bit on the other.
Yet in his first appearance with the Heat since earning his new deal, Larsson was disappointing. He earned solid minutes, but he just wasn’t able to make an impact like many hoped he would.
By the end of the night, Larsson had put up just two points, three rebounds, and four assists. He shot 0-of-2 from the field and 0-of-1 from deep range. He didn’t make a shot. His only two points came from the charity stripe.
If you had told Heat fans that Larsson would have recorded zero made field goals in his first game of the season, they would have been disappointed. If you had told them he did that in a blowout loss, they would be even more upset.
With a payday comes expectations. Larsson is no longer this fun young guy on a small deal who is outplaying his contract. He got paid. Now, he has to live up to that new money.
Again, there is plenty of season left. Almost the entire year. This is the time for overreactions, as only one game has been played. Miami will be just fine. So will Larsson.
But in the meantime, as the Heat recover from the brutal loss, Larsson is certainly one of the guys to keep an eye on. He just got paid, and he needs to play like a guy who just got paid.
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