Respected head coach Erik Spoelstra tried to support his new star Giannis Antetokounmpo against negative comments from his former coach Doc Rivers. The Miami Heat are off to a rough start in the Giannis era, but NBA coaching legend Rivers had some harsh comments for his former superstar. An appearance on the Bill Simmons Show led to Rivers claiming Antetokounmpo lacked basketball intelligence while discussing the Heat’s struggles.
Spoelstra warned Rivers that Giannis is Miami business now before changing his comment about the current Heat situation:
“Look, I like Doc and I respect him. This is our business now. And we’re going through a process of trying to develop a defense that’s meeting our potential. And we’re not right now. Like I said, we’re making some progress. I’m not so stubborn that I can’t see it. I can see it. It’s not happening fast enough. And it’s not happening with enough collective urgency and toughness.”
The quote showed that Spoelstra believes in the Heat turning things around, but the first two sentences told the real story. Rivers is clearly still bitter over how the Milwaukee Bucks tenure went when he joined the team to help them contend. Milwaukee failed to ever have a deep playoff run with the duo of Giannis and Damian Lillard to doom Doc’s chances of another ring.
Doc Rivers Loves Early Pressure On Giannis Antetokounmpo
The overall topic started with Simmons and Rivers discussing the NBA season and Miami’s early struggles. Rivers made sure to reference his own struggles of trying to get Giannis to lead a less talented team last season with Myles Turner as the best teammate.
The Heat failing to win games easily so far shows the roster needs time to gel for Antetokounmpo to form chemistry with Bam Adebayo. Rivers and Simmons referenced Giannis’ other issues and put more pressure on him with the negative media attention.
The news of Rivers leaving coaching after last season sees him making rare media appearances with Simmons and other friends. Doc could have easily been quiet here, but he made sure to call out Antetokounmpo and reference the things he felt failed them on the Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Must Save Miami Heat’s Season
The Heat roster sees a lot of interesting names, but Giannis is the only superstar on the roster. Veterans like Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins should not be expected to lead the team to victories in their more limited roles.
Adebayo is the only other clear All-Star on the roster, but he’s failed to look anywhere here near his best this season. Antetokounmpo must find a way to both keep his strong play going and get Heat teammates more involved in the offense.
A failed season will see most of the blame going to Giannis after he was finally traded in the offseason. Rumors exist about Miami hoping to make a run at Kyrie Irving or another noteworthy point guard to improve that position. Regardless, it all starts with Antetokounmpo finding the right path to lead his roster to relevance.
Erik Spoelstra Defends Giannis Antetokounmpo Against Doc Rivers