Miami Heat Start Giannis Antetokounmpo Era 0-3 After He Asks Team To “Dig In”

It has been almost a week since the new NBA season began, when the Miami Heat started the Giannis Antetokounmpo era with a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 131-106.

“We got to trust each other. When things don’t go our way, we got to dig in,” said the forward after that loss. Looking back on that quote now, nothing has shown that the team is doing it. He also said that the effort “starts with me” and that he “sets the tone” after the loss to Minnesota. That hasn’t happened either.

After losing to the Detroit Pistons in their second game of the season, fans began to conclude that Antetokounmpo was giving up on the team based on his emotions. He did his job putting up 36 points, but it wasn’t enough to win. People began to realize that Antetokounmpo couldn’t win by himself in Miami any more than he couldn’t in Milwaukee.

The bad got worse in their last game, where Antetokounmpo posted a -20 in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, with only 14 points and a foul-out.

Now the Heat sit at 0-3 with one of the most exciting starting lineups entering the season. The NBA has shown that a star-studded starting lineup doesn’t always translate into wins. Plenty of super-teams have struggled to find results due to chemistry.

0-3 is hardly an insurmountable setback this early in the season, but the alarm bells are ringing. Antetokounmpo said himself that he sets the tone, but the team is full of experience and leaders on the floor. It is still too early to tell whether the blockbuster move that sent Antetokounmpo to Miami is going to end up being the right decision.

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Article by Robert Blute