Q: Why play Giannis Antetokounmpo if Bam Adebayo has the night off? – Sid.
A: I appreciate the timing of the question, considering Wednesday night was only a preseason game. But the reality is there also will be games that count that Bam Adebayo will be unavailable. And it’s not as if you’re holding out Giannis Antetokounmpo from those games. In fact, it will be interesting to see the regular-season approach in such games. Wednesday night, it was Nick Richards being moved into the first five. But it eventually could prove more beneficial to start smaller, perhaps with Bobby Portis or Nikola Jovic opening in the power rotation alongside Giannis, or perhaps the Heat going small on those nights, in order to maximize their abundance of wings, with Andrew Wiggins as the opening four. What the opposition comes with likely will also factor into such future Bam-less lineup permutations.
Q: Ira, it looks like the Nets won’t stink this season. Where are the Heat going to get their easy victories? – Len.
A: Lottery reform changed all of that, no more beating up on teams willing to be beaten up. But if the Heat are what they believe they are, then there also should be plenty of games when they go in with the feeling of having the upper hand. The notion of a night off thankfully has largely been eliminated. But knowing that every game means something in what should be a tightly contested East should provide ample motivation.
Q: Are we going to get the Heat games here in Fort Myers? – Eduard.
A: That’s what the word has been. Then again, word was that Wednesday night’s game against the Nets was going to be the Heat’s first on their new Palm Beach affiliate. So everything at the moment is touch and go as replacements for FanDuel beyond WPLG-Local 10 are being established, as we count down to Wednesday night’s season opener against the visiting Timberwolves.