The Miami Heat's ambitious new era is off to a rough start. A 138-point surrender in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last Monday marked the fourth time in the team's first seven games that its defense allowed 125 or more points, and the Lakers piled up 79 of those before halftime. Miami sits at 4-6 and has been outscored by 53 points through 10 games.
Klay Thompson, who scrapped plans for an off day visit to Catalina Island after the loss, said the focus had to narrow. "It's important for all of us to stay present and not look too far ahead in the season," Thompson told ESPN. "When you have big expectations, you think about the postseason, you think about seeding. I think we just need to really stay week-to-week."
Thompson, a five-time All-Star who won four championships with the Golden State Warriors, took a buyout from the Dallas Mavericks this summer to join Miami and play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, who arrived in a blockbuster June trade with the Milwaukee Bucks. "That Heat culture is real," Thompson said, noting that his father, Mychal Thompson, played for team president Pat Riley with the Lakers, making the move "a pretty full-circle moment for us."
On paper, the defense should be formidable. Antetokounmpo is a former Defensive Player of the Year, center Bam Adebayo owns six All-Defensive team selections, guard Davion Mitchell is nicknamed "Off Night" for his pressure on ball handlers, and Andrew Wiggins has been an elite perimeter defender. Yet Miami ranks 25th in the league on that end. "It can't just be on paper, and it can't just be reputation," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It has to be backed up by real actions." Asked whether the team simply needed time, he replied, "The league's not waiting."
Antetokounmpo offered a blunter diagnosis after the Lakers game. "Right now, we don't trust one another," he said. "We don't give that extra effort. We did it for two games, but we keep on having bad habits creep up in games." He explained that players fail to close out fully because they do not believe a teammate is behind them, adding, "You got to do your job. I got to do my job."
The numbers support his point. Opponents are shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range against Miami, the third-highest mark in the league, and the Heat concede a league-worst 20.5 open 3s per game. Teams are also making 16.4 3-pointers per game against them, the most in the NBA.
During the Los Angeles swing, three franchise pillars made their presence felt. Riley attended both games and visited the locker room after the Lakers loss, while Heat legend Dwyane Wade showed up at the shootaround at UCLA before Wednesday's game against the Clippers. Former captain Udonis Haslem, the longtime embodiment of Heat culture, addressed the team at Monday's shootaround. "It's just him showing he cares," Adebayo told ESPN, declining to share the message.
Spoelstra would not compare the scrutiny to 2010, when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Wade and the team opened 9-8. That group, he noted, won with defense while the offense lagged. This team is the reverse, though only slightly: Miami ranks 20th offensively and is still learning to space the floor with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo together. Consultant Noah LaRoche has installed schemes that emphasize spacing over pick-and-rolls, yet when the Heat do run on-ball screens they have the most efficient offense in the league. They average just 22.3 such plays per game, the fewest in the NBA, though Spoelstra dialed up 57 to secure the season's first win over Atlanta after an 0-4 start.
There was at least one encouraging sign. Two nights after the Lakers debacle, Thompson scored 30 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including the winning 3-pointer in overtime to beat the Clippers. "It was gritty. It wasn't pretty," Thompson said. "But it was nice to gut it out because we've been in the mud to start the season."
