There's no denying that many are concerned as the Miami Heat have started the regular season at 0-3 after another disappointing loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, 115-110. With some fans potentially thinking that it's time to hit the panic button on the Heat, let's slow down, take a breath, look into the team's early struggles, and realize why better times are yet to come.
It's easy to see the thinking from any fan that after Miami made the blockbuster trade for Antetokounmpo back in July, the team got infinitely better. Yes, it's true, but to expect those results in the first few weeks of the regular season was fool's gold.
Appearances on past podcasts, radio shows, and writing prior pieces on the Heat for ClutchPoints will show that I've been on the wave that a slow start was coming for the Heat.
How perception can be reality on that point is a funny thing. Saying that in the offseason could be labeled as looking negatively on the prospects of what is the most important season in the franchise's history in a while. Fast forward to the present, and using that caution is seen as pampering a struggling team that had high expectations.
Either way, this time around, the idea of perception being reality has taken a new form with Miami. With three games of sample size to work with, let's take a look at why a slow start should've been expected from the get-go.
The Heat acclimation process for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo
The franchise hasn't integrated a top-level big man in the NBA since the “Big 3” era with Chris Bosh and Shaquille O'Neal, which led to the organization's first NBA championship in 2006.
Even though championships were a part of Miami's landscape with those two stars, one could argue that the Heat didn't solely center around them, usually with a top guard or wing player to pair. Next to Bosh was obviously Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, with O'Neal also having Wade.
Not only are you bringing in Antetokounmpo, who commands a massive gravitational pull on the court, but your next top star is another big man in Bam Adebayo. While the main focus could be on Antetokounmpo getting acclimated to the team, the captain, Adebayo, has an equal adjustment process, as he's usually played off players like Jimmy Butler or Tyler Herro.
The early struggles for Adebayo aren't surprising, as he's averaging 13 points, seven rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from three-point range (three of 13).
The eye test shows that Antetokounmpo and Adebayo are still getting used to playing on the same floor with one another on both sides of the floor, as they each occupy a chunk of the court. Meshing two bigs is a tough task, but one that still boasts a huge ceiling the more they play with one another.
The defense has been the most confounding aspect of the Heat
With other newcomers like Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bobby Portis Jr., and others joining the mix, they'll obviously have to gel with their new team, but the same acclimation process goes for the returning players. It goes for both the offense and defense as well, though the latter has arguably been the most surprising downfall at the start of the Heat's season.
Looking at the starting lineup, Antetokounmpo, Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, and Davion Mitchell have been known for their elite defense. Even Thompson has All-Defense honors under his belt, though the others will likely carry their weight on that side of the floor.
However, the team's defense has been frustrating, as Miami ranks 27th in the league in defensive rating through three games. The limited time in the offseason and the handful of preseason games aren't enough to get the full product in the first few games of the season. It isn't just me saying that; it's everybody on the team, as Mitchell and Portis echoed the same sentiments after the loss to Charlotte on Saturday.
“We just got to keep fighting, keep pushing,” Mitchell said, according to The Miami Herald. “It’s a new team; we’re kind of learning each other’s personalities, learning each other’s games still. I mean, this is Game 3. We’re not in panic mode. We’re going to figure it out.”
“It’s early in the season; it’s October,” Portis Jr. said. “We’re still getting to know each other. When you put a team together, all the pieces have to come together.”
The Heat's “trust” level needs to be built
If one person has been committed to the success of the Heat so far, it has been Antetokounmpo, as he recorded back-to-back games of at least 30 points in the first two contests. Saturday saw Antetokounmpo get into foul trouble, leading to the 14-point night, but if there's one trait that he's been harping on the team to forge, it's “trust.”
“We have to trust what we're doing; we got to trust what we've been working on,” Antetokounmpo said after the regular-season opener loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last Wednesday. “I don’t know if it’s jitters or excitement from the first game of the season, but we gotta be better. Our offense gotta be better. We have to trust one another. Our trust can’t go out the window.”
Giannis kept saying throughout his post-game presser that “trust” needs to continue to be built between one another after the regular season opener:
“We just got to trust what we’ve done…” #Heat pic.twitter.com/X0AXZzkag2
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) October 22, 2026
Antetokounmpo has held himself accountable time and time again, and one area that could unlock another layer to the team is his passing ability. There are two sides to this, as while he's averaging three assists per game, missed shots have plagued the team, though Antetokounmpo has averaged 10.3 potential assists per game.
Looking at Saturday's loss to the Hornets, the team attempted a comeback at the start of the fourth quarter from a 21-point deficit and went on a 25-4 run. The eye-opening revelation for many was that Antetokounmpo wasn't in the lineup due to the aforementioned foul trouble, as Adebayo, Mitchell, Hardaway, Portis, and Pelle Larsson were the five players on the floor.
Article Continues BelowThe Heat are going through pain
Once again, not that shocking, as the team played consistent basketball to how they've played in the past, despite the two newcomers in the lineup. Antetokounmpo changes a lineup, as people critiqued Spoelstra for the move, but this team needs him out there as much as possible to build that chemistry.
However, there could be a silver lining to the 0-3 start, as it's a harsh learning experience that could harden the team, as Antetokounmpo mentioned that the team has been “shocked” by the outcomes.
Another word for it is “pain,” which is a term Mitchell used.
“I think the motto of our group is pain, and we’re going through pain,” Mitchell said Saturday. “And we love that because you learn so much from it.”
The Heat are still in the early stages of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-era
Ahead of Monday's game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat are shooting 30.3 percent from three-point range, ranking 21st in the league. The biggest acquisition in that department is Thompson, who struggled from deep in the preseason, which has leaked into the regular season, as he's shooting 34.6 percent (nine of 26). Another is Hardaway, who's hitting on 17.6 percent (three of 17) of his shots from deep.
Both have the ability to connect on or hover close to 40 percent from deep, as the two reaching those heights are a foreseeable future.
At the end of the day, it remains to be seen when and how the Heat adjust, which most teams have to do throughout the regular season, especially when the franchise is in the first year of a new era. The next chance for Miami to change its outside perception from reality comes on Monday against Dallas.