The Miami Heat are off to a 0-3 start after their 115-110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday evening, and an ESPN NBA insider has several specific concerns about their defense. On the latest edition of the Hoop Collective podcast, hosted by Brian Windhorst, NBA insider Tim MacMahon took a “flamethrower” to Miami's “flammable” defense. In his rant, he cited defensive/net ratings to color his criticism.
“The Heat right now are an abysmal defensive team. They’re the 3rd worst defensive team in the league. I’m going to read you defensive/net ratings for their starting lineup.”
He then read off the defensive/net ratings:
Davion Mitchell: 130.4, -20.6
Klay Thompson: 134.9, -33.5
Andrew Wiggins: 141.5, -39
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 122.9, -28.6
Bam Adebayo: 128.3, -20.5
He continued, saying, “Their starting 5 is flammable right now. — They just aren’t that talented out the top 2 guys. There’s a pretty massive drop from 2-3 and then it’s not a deep team. Klay Thompson’s not a starter at this point in his life. Davion Mitchell’s never been a starter on a good team. He should be playing 18 MPG or so.”
In the Heat's loss against the Hornets, the team gave up 115 points and 16 three-pointers. Antetokounmpo also fouled out. Despite Giannis Antetokounmpo being unable to play in the rest of the game, the Heat almost pulled off a comeback, led by a lineup of Davion Mitchell and Bam Adebayo, with Bobby Portis Jr., Tim Hardaway, and Pelie Larsson. But the team was unable to pull off the comeback and head into Monday's matchup with the Dallas Mavericks winless on the season.