After an underwhelming opening to the season, the Miami Heat will look to end a four-game losing streak when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
While it was thought to be an adjustment period with the addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo, no one could have expected it. A week after the two-time MVP’s debut in Miami, the Heat are still looking for a win.
Miami finished 15-67 after its first 0-4 start since the 2007-08 season. Antetokounmpo had his first triple-double with the Heat in Monday’s 113-109 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The 10-time All-Star finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, but Miami shot 9-of-25 (36%) in the fourth quarter and missed 11 of 25 free throws overall.
“It’s not the start that anybody wanted, but it happened,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So we have to settle for what’s in front of us and continue to be more consistent with our game.”
Davion Mitchell scored 21 points against Dallas, while Bam Adebayo was 8 on 10 3-point shooting. Adebayo is averaging 11.8 points and making just three of 18 3-point attempts.
Miami’s 105.3 offensive rating ranked 27th in the league entering Tuesday’s game.
Adebayo said Miami was being “scapegoated” for their slow start, but Antetokounmpo said there was plenty of blame around him.
“I think it’s not just Bam. It’s everybody,” Antetokounmpo said. “We try to figure out where we fit in and what we need to do. We try not to step on toes. I do that myself sometimes. I just float around and try to see how I can help the team.”
The Heat won three of their four meetings against the Hawks last season.
Atlanta enters the game at 2-2 after back-to-back losses to the Houston Rockets, including Monday’s 120-110 road loss.
Atlanta struggled to limit Houston’s interior offense in Monday’s loss. The Rockets scored 64 points in the paint, shot 53.1 percent from the field and outrebounded the Hawks 52-35.
Jalen Johnson had 21 points and CJ McCollum 20, but the Hawks went 3 of 16 from 3-point range in the second half as the Rockets used a 22-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to secure the win.
“When we play the way we’re supposed to play, we’re very competitive,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “But when we switch sides, we don’t run, we don’t pass the ball, we’re not a very good team.”
Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu had 11 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals, one block and one 3-pointer against the Rockets.
Atlanta will need perimeter defenders to break up Miami before Antetokounmpo goes down. Dyson Daniels averages 3.5 steals and 2.5 offensive rebounds to give the Hawks extra possessions.
Snyder emphasized that Daniels could share demanding defensive duties with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luguentz Dort.
“You can’t put him on everybody’s head,” Snyder said of Daniels. “And, you know, those matchup questions, you’ve got other guys on Nickeil who can protect the ball.”
– Field Level Media