Giannis Antetokounmpo would’ve had big dreams when he joined the Miami Heat, but he has ended up on the losing side in each of the first two games.
The Greek forward is one of the best in the game, and he has personally had a great start, scoring at least 35 points in both games.
However, the results aren’t clicking at the moment, and he thinks he knows one of the reasons why.
Giannis Antetokounmpo says Miami Heat are getting discouraged
The Miami Heat have been a strange team to watch this season.
They have been decent in attack, and the numbers, especially Antetokounmpo’s, prove that. But they have been woeful in defence.
Both the Timberwolves and the Pistons have managed to score points comfortably against the Heat, and the Greek superstar feels that has been the big problem.
Antetokounmpo believes that every time things haven’t gone his side’s way, the players get discouraged and that has led to poor defending.
He told Zach Weinberger: “We’ve got to be one of the teams that set the tone early. I feel like sometimes when things don’t go your way, you get discouraged, and your defence is not as good.
“But at the end of the day, I feel like once we are locked in and we trust one another at all levels, offence becomes easier, defence becomes easier, and right now it’s not the way it should be.
“But we’ve got to keep on taking good things from the game. It was better than the first game.”
Antetokounmpo definitely has a point there. The Heat have scored 106 and 111 points in their first two games, which shows they are getting things fairly right on the offence.
The biggest improvement now needs to happen in defence, and things not going their way at one point should not result in the whole game’s performance taking a nosedive.
The Heat take on the Charlotte Hornets next, and that will be another tough game. If they don’t fix their defence, they will likely go 0-3.
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