Why Heat’s Erik Spoelstra ‘felt horrible’ about season-opener loss to Timberwolves

Asked Erik Spoelstra about reflecting on how Minnesota limited Giannis’ passing lanes: #Heat

“It was tough for me to really evaluate. It was uncharacteristic how we functioned offensively, and that's not taking away anything from from Minnesota. But I feel we have a better… pic.twitter.com/dApJ9MMJXd

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 23, 2026

Heat’s Giannis Antetokounmpo looks to find better passing lanes 

Fans got a taste of what Antetokounmpo will be like in a Miami uniform, using his otherworldly physicality to get any advantage in the paint and cause a commotion. Antetokounmpo shot 13 of 19 from the field to go along with making nine of his 14 attempts from the free-throw line, but there’s no denying that the one assist was surprising for many, though other aspects stood out to Spoelstra.

“We didn’t get many good looks,” Spoelstra said. “You know, [Giannis] was a force of nature, for sure, doing 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 uncharacteristic: walking the ball up, you know, waving for play calls, playing on one side of the floor, one-pass shots that were contested, and then just leaving it to one shot.”

“The plays in the margins,” Spoelstra continued. “We’re also going to have to get better at that, forcing more turnovers, taking care of the basketball. They basically won all those departments. We outshot them tonight; we got beat by 30. They dominated the turnovers and dominated the offensive glass and dominated the three-point line.”