The Miami Heat fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves in regular season debut 106-131. The Heat was a step slow all night in every aspect of the game. Here are 5 takeaways to start the season.
1) GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
Giannis in mid-season form unfortunately the rest of the team and especially the offense were not. He finished the game with 35 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. He did this while shooting 68.4% from the field and getting to the free throw line 14 times!
The biggest thing to take away from tonight is for the Heat to be successful in the playoffs. Giannis is going to need to have a lot more assists.
The biggest issue with the offense all night was not enough passing. Everyone standing and watching Giannis go to work in the middle of the floor.
When others did get their turn, it was one drive or one pass and shot. All successful offenses have body movement and ball movement.
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 22, 2026Erik Spoelstra on the looks that the #Heat generated:
“We didn't get many good looks. [Giannis] was a force of nature, for sure, doing what what he does. But we didn't look like us offensively. You have to give Minnesota credit for that. But we were also doing things that were… pic.twitter.com/GNOp6tifnt
2) REBOUNDING AND DEFENSE
The Heat are much bigger this season and the Timberwolves were a great test. They failed that test tonight, being out rebounded 67-44 by Minnesota. The Heat got decent contributions from Giannis and Bam. The biggest issue as a team was the effort on the glass.
There were too many times the other team could box out and get rebounds that bounced off the floor before Miami could react. The defense was an issue all night. They did a poor job of running the wolves off the 3-point line. They shot 42% as team. Anthony Edwards himself went 9-17 for an unreal 52.9%.
The Heat as a team will need to shoot much better, but Klay Thompson proved he can still shoot the ball at a high level. He went 3-6 for 50% from deep coming of flares and staggered screens, yes, he can still shoot.
3) SECOND UNIT TROUBLE
The 2nd unit ball handling is an issue, Spo brought Giannis back quickly when he noticed Davion and Giannis both off the floor at the same time. The possession was a clunky mess and led to a timeout.
Bobby Portis looks good, has nice footwork, plays position defense and stretches the floor which the team desperately needed.
4) POOR OFFENSE
I don’t like the offensive process regardless of result, It was a lot of people taking turns playing one on one and we learned from the big 3 era that it doesn’t work. This is one thing from those legendary teams that can’t carry over into this new Giannis Era.
5) DO NOT OVERREACT
It is only one game with 81 more to go. There will be a lot of overractions tonight. Here you can read about 3 overractions written by Austin Dobbins.
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