Miami Heat · 6 notes
"I definitely need one, one more game for sure." Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to play the Heat's final preseason game rather than sit it out, chasing as many reps as he can. Teammates and coaches want him to be aggressive and make plays, and he says he'll keep at it.
Bobby Portis is still learning the Heat's system, Giannis Antetokounmpo said, and "when he has that down, he's going to be... big threat for our team." Teams leaving Portis open for corner threes, he added, have to pick their poison.
"When Ryan comes into the game and when Davion is out, like, our pace kind of slows down." Giannis Antetokounmpo says the Heat lose speed when rookie Ryan Conwell replaces Davion Mitchell, whose pace he called "dangerous" and said he never wanted to face as an opponent.
Miami hasn't settled on staggering Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Erik Spoelstra wouldn't commit: "we'll see where it eventually goes, but it makes sense... to have one of those guys on the floor... as often as you can." He also wants to maximize their time together.
Bam Adebayo says Erik Spoelstra keeping him and Giannis Antetokounmpo apart was probably a test: "we're still trying to figure this thing out. So I know it's not absolute." If the Heat starters get longer stints in the last three preseason games, he expects "more one-on-one."
Giannis Antetokounmpo says he's "not there yet" in Miami: "I've played with the Bucks, what, 900+ games. I've played with the Heat 2 games." The Heat's pace is faster than he's used to, and he and Bam Adebayo are still sorting out who brings the ball up.