Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Doncic was masterful, producing 42 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. He was 14 for 24 from the field and six for 15 from three-point range. “Feels good. Like I said, obviously when we win, it feels way better,” Doncic said. “And that’s the only important stuff. But obviously it feels good. You know, when you win by [21] against a team like Miami, it’s really awesome, especially on a back-to-back.”
The statue of Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade outside of the Miami Heat’s arena has a new look. The bronze statue honoring the franchise’s all-time leading scorer drew criticism when it was unveiled at Kaseya Center in October 2024, with some fans saying it failed to accurately capture Wade’s appearance.
Ethan J. Skolnick on Kyrie Irving: “I think we've both heard that he's interested in playing down in Miami. I also know Spoelstra holds him in very high regard. I know there are concerns about other stuff.”
Jon Krawczynski: "They get to Miami in the season opener and he's playing and playing well, but from what I'm told at some point in that game, there was a tweak of some sort that happened with his right knee. They got new imaging with an MRI, and it revealed a worse situation than had been examined this last summer in July, I think was the previous examination. And so at that point, Ant was still such a competitive guy, he's like, I think I can play through this. I think it's a pain management situation. I want to be out there for the team. Let's see what's going on. And then, he goes through the next few games, it is still bothering him. We signed against Toronto on Sunday, he was kind of grabbing at his knee and grimacing. He played in a back-to-back in Cleveland, plays 41 minutes, scores 47 points, is very, very effective, but I think at that time coming out of that game, from what I understand, it was another meeting with Timberwolves doctors. When they got back to Minneapolis from Cleveland, and at that time it was determined that, hey, we've got to address this some way, somehow. And so, this is not the exact same injury that he was dealing with in the summertime right after the Spurs series."
Zachary Weinberger: #Heat drop to now 0-4 on the season as they lose 113-109 to the Mavs. An absolute frustrating loss as the team has yet to get in the winning column. Giannis with 29 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists. Davion w/ 21, Bam with 8 points (3-10 FG) and 8 rebounds.
Advertisement
When then-two-time NBA MVP LeBron James joined Wade in Miami in 2010, their first season as teammates wasn’t always smooth. “We had this in Miami with Bron and I,” Wade said on the latest episode of his podcast, “WY Network by Dwyane Wade.” “Bron came, and I think it took us about a year before Bron could be LeBron. Him and I were back and forth. ‘Hey, you shot two shots in a row.’ And it wasn’t like that, but it was like that. It was like, ‘All right, I don’t want to shoot too much. I don’t want to do too much.’ We kind of had to get out of that.”
The Dallas Mavericks have upgraded Cooper Flagg (left shoulder sprain) to questionable for Monday’s game against Miami. Kyrie Irving (left knee injury management) is now available, Caleb Martin (right thumb sprain) is doubtful, and Naji Marshall (illness) is out.
CURRY WAS AMONG a large contingent within the Warriors initially skeptical of acquiring Butler after his elongated final chapter in Miami played out like a soap opera. They had discussed Zach LaVine as an alternative option, team sources said. Curry was also fond of Andrew Wiggins, a beloved teammate who helped push Curry to that legacy-cementing fourth title in 2022 but would need to be moved to make a deal work. So Curry, while informed, stayed mostly out of front office business, as he prefers.
Simmons actually wasn’t high on the Kings’ radar even deep into free agency over the summer. But after the three-time NBA All-Star showed he was healthy at an Australia national team minicamp in Melbourne in early August, interest around the league began to pick up. Patrick told Kings assistant coach Brendan Suhr — who also coached Simmons at LSU — how well the guard had played. After a conversation with Suhr, Kings general manager Scott Perry paid a visit to Miami to watch Simmons work out in late August. “Around the time he was participating with the Australian national team, I got a couple calls from people in Australia mentioning the fact that Ben Simmons is here and he’s playing really, really well, he looks healthy again and a little bit reminiscent of his days in Philadelphia,” Perry told E:60.
Putting Antetokounmpo, one of the league’s all-time great transition players, into a system that plays at a faster pace than anybody else in the NBA has created easy offense for Antetokounmpo and the Heat. Miami will need to add layers to what they do on offense as the season progresses, but the first two games suggest Miami could have what it takes to be an even stronger offensive unit this season. “I mean, last year, we led the league in 140-point games and that’s with no Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Adebayo said with a laugh. “But we see the potential. The fact that we can get two 70-point halves. Spo’s a maniac, he’s gonna push it to be like, ‘Try to get 80. Try to get 85.’
Advertisement
However, that wasn't the same approach that he saw in Milwaukee. Thus, Giannis never pushed his Bucks' teammates to work as hard as he did and allowed them to be themselves. As a result, when Antetokounmpo was explaining the primarydifference between Milwaukee and Miami, his comments did seemingly throw the likes of Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton and Holiday under the bus. "Brook (Lopez) is not showing up a month early. Khris (Middleton) is not showing up a month early. Jrue (Holiday) is not showing up a month early," Antetokounmpo said. "Like, we knew what the deal was."
“For me, it was easy to come in early, have the guys to L.A. for minicamp because I only have so many years left to do this,” Thompson said. “I want to give it everything I got before I hang it up because, well, Giannis and I know how hard it is to win. The hardest thing to do in this league is to win a ring. “The thing I love about being in Miami is how hungry these young players are. Their commitment to being here early to condition themselves this offseason was something I’ve never really seen before. It just inspires me to give them everything I have.”
Cole’s best NBA years came in Miami as part of the Heat’s Big 3 era, averaging 6.2 points and 2.6 assists per game in 274 regular-season appearances (35 starts) with the Heat. Primarily in a backup point guard role, he won NBA championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013. “You walk through the halls and you think about that stuff,” Cole said of the memories he associates with Kaseya Center. “You never forget about those times. And it also gives you motivation to get back to that feeling. So, that’s exactly it. When I walk through the halls, I feel the emotions of the memories of walking through those halls, celebrating the wins, the losses, all the battles. That’s what I think about. That’s exactly what I think about.”
Marc Stein: UPDATE: Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Miami for the first time tonight while Toronto has elected to rest the reacquired Kawhi Leonard in Quebec City. Heat-at-Raptors is the NBA’s first preseason game of the new season.