MIAMI – With the Miami Heat losing the regular season opener to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, 131-106, the hope was to come back to the Kaseya Center on Friday and bounce back against the Detroit Pistons. As Giannis Antetokounmpo made his regular season debut with the Heat in starting a new era for the franchise, the team is still looking for its first win after losing to the Pistons, 128-111.

Erik Spoelstra on what's the “best thing” for the Heat after 0-2 start

There's no denying that this new-look Miami team is still getting used to the newcomers such as Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, and others. The uncharacteristic sloppy play of the Heat carried over from the Timberwolves loss to Friday as Detroit started the game on a 17-2 run and scored 103 points through three quarters.

As the Pistons' largest lead was 23 points, Miami had a bunch of times where, with the help of Antetokounmpo, they would go on runs to dwindle the deficit, but Detroit would quickly stifle any real threat.

With the players still looking to get acclimated with one another, head coach Erik Spoelstra would say to ClutchPoints that “the best thing” right now is facing the adversity and carrying it into Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets.

“We're getting to know each other right at the beginning of the season,” Spoelstra said. “Our preseason was great, and everything was terrific. And training camp was pretty smooth. It was pretty easy. You could see the vision of where we're going and where we will end up, but we're facing a little bit adversity to start. No one wanted to start 0-2 with our first two home games. I do know this about our locker room: they care. Probably the best thing for us to do is go on the road with a tough turnaround with less than 24 hours to play our next game; I think that's what our team needs.”

Asked Erik Spoelstra about another disappointing defensive effort from the #Heat in the loss to Detroit.

“…We're getting to know each other right at the beginning of the season. Our preseason was great, and everything was was terrific. And training camp was pretty smooth. It… pic.twitter.com/5L95lVfri0

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 24, 2026

Erik Spoelstra confident in Heat reaching high level

The Heat ended up shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from three-point range compared to the Pistons, who shot 52.8 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from deep. Detroit's John Collins led with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Cade Cunningham had 16 points, eight assists, and three blocks, plus former Miami guard Duncan Robinson had 16 points.

While the Heat were chasing success to start the season, a valid prediction for any fan could've been a slow start with the new faces, though frustration is still building after losing the first two games to start the regular season. However, Spoelstra is confident that Miami is “going to get there,” saying that the team is dying to compete more.

“We'll get there. These are two frustrating games where we weren't able to command the game the way we know we're capable of, and sometimes you just can't explain it. But what we can focus on now is getting on this bird, getting a little bit of rest,” Spoelstra said.

“We don't need rest. Just drop us off in parachutes for this game tomorrow night; we just need to get out there and compete again,” Spoelstra continued. “Like I said, I think this is a great opportunity. We're getting to know each other now. Everything was great in September, barbecues, all this stuff. You get to know each other for real when you feel a little bit of adversity.”

Erik Spoelstra on if part of the early issues is that the #Heat are still learning how to play with one another:

“That's probably part of it, and to our system and to our standards, we're going to get there. We'll get there. These are two frustrating games where we weren't able… pic.twitter.com/JhJB4rFANK

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 24, 2026

Giannis Antetokounmpo on what the Heat is missing

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In Antetokounmpo's second game of the regular season with the Heat, he once again impressed individually, recording 36 points on 15 of 26 from the field, 12 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He pointed out after Wednesday's loss to Minnesota that the “trust” in one another was a key flaw in the result, and while it was improved against the Pistons, he's still looking for Miami to “set the tone early.”

“It was definitely better today than the first game, but still not where we needed to be, not where it was in preseason….Twice, we let the other team hit first. We got to set the tone. We got to figure out a way to set the tone, like we keep on playing from behind. You know, we go down 12, come back, then we go down 20, then we come back to 12, then we just keep on playing from behind,” Antetokounmpo said.

“We got to be one of the teams that set the tone early, and I feel like sometimes when things don't go your way, you get discouraged, and your defense is not as good,” Antetokounmpo continued. “But at the end of the day, I feel like once we are locked in and we trust one another at all levels, offense becomes easier, defense becomes easier, and right now it's not that way it should be. But gotta keep on taking good things from the game.”

At any rate, the Heat look for their first win of the season on Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets.