Giannis Antetokounmpo breaks down comfort level with Heat through two preseason games

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MIAMI – With the Miami Heat’s preseason featuring opportunities for Giannis Antetokounmpo to acclimate to the team, he took another positive step in the 128-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. As fans have been waiting to see how Antetokounmpo can boost the Heat’s offense, Thursday was another glimpse of how it’ll look once the regular season opens on Oct. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In 18 minutes of play, Antetokounmpo would record 18 points on eight of 13 shooting from the field, two of five from the free-throw line, to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Showing more assertiveness Thursday, Antetokounmpo would tell ClutchPoints that after two preseason games, he is “not there yet” on being fully comfortable, especially after the 13 seasons played with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I’m a little bit more comfortable, but I’m not there yet,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve played with the Bucks, what? 900-plus games. I’ve played with the Heat two games. So if you do the math, I think it takes a little bit some time for me to be fully comfortable. But it’s basketball. I want to be aggressive. I’ve always tried to get to my spot, be aggressive, make that right play, play hard, and that won’t change no matter where I am and who’s next to me. I just got to keep on being myself.”

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While Antetokounmpo continues to show why he’s one of the top players in the world, he is “slowly trying to figure out my spots offensively,” admitting that “it’s going to take time.” As the two-time MVP would mention, Antetokounmpo is also looking to get accustomed to the fast-paced style of play that carries over from last season, where Miami led the league in pace with 104.22 possessions per 48 minutes.

Heat’s Bam Adebayo on “work to be done” with Giannis Antetokounmpo

The first two preseason games for Antetokounmpo are a microcosm of what’s to come from his stint on the Heat, featuring not just being a dominant force downhill on offense and a stalwart on defense, but a productive playmaker. Antetokounmpo once again started alongside Bam Adebayo, Klay Thompson, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins, with the other half of the frontcourt in the captain expressing that “there’s still work to be done.”

“We’ve been building this over training camp and into mini camp, so there’s still work to be done,” Adebayo said to ClutchPoints. “We’re still trying to work through it. You know, we only got a couple first halves; these first two games to really see what it feels like to be on the actual court against somebody else. But as these preseason games go on, obviously we’ll play longer minutes and longer stints, and we’ll figure it out. I mean, it’s been great, but obviously the games haven’t really started yet.”

Adebayo spoke about seeing the “potential” with Antetokounmpo, adding a superstar talent to a team that led the league in 140-point games last season with 12. Especially as the two preseason contests featured the starting lineup helping Miami score at least 70 points in the first half.

“Spo’s [Erik Spoelstra] a maniac; he’s gonna push us to like try to get 80, try to get 85, and that’s the potential for this team,” Adebayo said after recording nine points, four rebounds, and two assists in the win over New Orleans. “So we’re excited about it. Obviously, like I said, it’s early in the season; the regular season hasn’t really started, but when we get this thing going, I think you’ll see a lot of 70-point halves.”

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra says Giannis Antetokounmpo is getting “better” 

After playing in 36 games in his final season with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo is looking to return fully in the mix of having an MVP-caliber type of year. It does remain to be seen if he averages at least 30 points and 11 rebounds per game, as he did so in the three years before last season, but as time goes on, he continues to fit in with what the Heat are trying to accomplish on the court, as Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said Antetokounmpo is getting “better and better.”

“He was more assertive tonight, putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket,” Spoelstra said Thursday to ClutchPoints. “We want that, we need that, and it’ll also depend on how teams are defending us and how many guys are putting in front of him. You know, he’s willing, as we know, to make the right play. But I thought he was really good changing ends from a defensive stop or a turnover, and all of a sudden he was one of the first guys down on the other end; it seemed like it was him or Davion [Mitchell] on a lot of those fast breaks.”

At any rate, it remains to be seen how Spoelstra will utilize Antetokounmpo for the rest of the preseason, with the next game on Saturday against the Timberwolves.

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