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Heat learning harsh realities of a dramatically revised roster, ‘It’s not a 2K game’
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- Heat learning harsh realities of a dramatically revised roster, ‘It’s not a 2K game’
LOS ANGELES — As the Miami Heat moved on to Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers at 2-5, that 9-8 start to the Big Three era in 2010-11 in retrospect looks a lot less like any sort of opening failure.
But it also means the Heat, and even coach Erik Spoelstra have been here before, aware of how things can turn and how an 82-game season has a way of progressing toward the mean.
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To forward Bobby Portis Jr., who accompanied Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat in that blockbuster offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, it's part of adjusting the unique talents of a unique star.
"I don't think it's just Giannis. I think it's just basketball in general," Portis said. "It's not a 2K game, where you just put guys on the team and it works. I think it's a process. You've got to go through the highs and lows of what the season presents to you.
"All teams peak at the right time that have a chance of winning."
So not necessarily panic, but also respect for the process, one that moves on Thursday night to a game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
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"Obviously, it started off slow, but it will peak at the right time throughout the season," Portis offered confidently. "I just think it's a process, every-day process."
Portis said what matters most is that the work remain ongoing.
"Guys just drilling things, getting familiar with how guys play, it's real," he said of the learning curve toward greater success. "We've got six, seven new guys on the team. We're all trying to figure it out at once."
As the Heat learned during that 2010-11 season that started 9-8 and went on to close at 58-24 with the roster featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it can come around quickly. But that 2010-11 Heat roster also proved to be flawed in the playoffs, requiring additional offseason tinkering before winning the 2012 championship.
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So that leaves the question of whether there is enough currently in place, a question that Antetokounmpo made clear is an issue to be left to others.
"I don't know," he said in the wake of the Monday night loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena that dropped the Heat to 2-5. "I'm just a basketball player. I just came here to compete. Do I think we have the pieces? Yeah. Do I think we got a lot of things to figure out? We have a lot.
"But I know what the Miami Heat culture is about. I know what the players in this locker room are about. I know what I'm about. And I know that once we get on the right track, we can make some noise."
Viewing party
Among those in attendance at Wednesday morning's shootaround at UCLA were Heat president Pat Riley as well as former Heat players Wade, Udonis Haslem and Justise Winslow.
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Wade had offered criticism of the Heat's early-season play on his recent podcast .
"When I look at the Miami Heat, when I look at it, it's like, OK, it's early in the year. They're not a team yet,' " Wade said. "They're a bunch of individual guys that have not had a lot of uncomfortable conversations yet."
Spoelstra felt the thoughts came from a good place.
"It's always great to have him around us," Spoelstra said Wednesday morning. "I love him dearly. He was around for our game in Miami. I spent some time with him after the game. I cherish those moments.
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"He's a great sounding board, particularly where we are right now and the experiences he's gone through. He has a great way of communicating it, even to this old head coach."
Spoelstra said it's the same with Haslem, who now holds a Heat front-office title.
"It's just something that's a great luxury," Spoelstra said of such sounding boards. "I'm extremely grateful to have these decades-long relationships with somebody like Dwayne and UD. I've been here with them from the beginning as an assistant coach when they were rookies. We've all grown so much since then.
"Deep relationships usually take time and usually take going through a lot of stuff. We've gone through a lot of stuff together — good, bad, and everything in between. That's why I treasure the friendship with Dwyane. It's not head coach-player relationship anymore. It's all love now."
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Winslow, 30, currently is out of the game, having last played in the NBA in 2022-23 with the Portland Trail Blazers and then having played in the G League in 2024-25.
