MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra stopped short of complete hyperbole, but only because he did not name the name.
Still, it only took one night of game action with Giannis Antetokounmpo in a Miami Heat uniform for his coach to conjure something, well, Magic-al.
In the wake of Antetokounmpo recording seven assists in just 14:07 of action in Saturday night’s 129-105 preseason victory over the Toronto Raptors in Quebec City, Spoelstra reflected to when Heat President Pat Riley coached Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Pat was at practice all week,” Spoelstra said of last week’s training camp at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and what Antetokounmpo put on display, “and the way he’s played with the ball in his hands and delivering the ball reminds all of us of a great, big point guard that played for Pat back in the 80s.”
Yes, there also was 3-of-4 shooting for nine points as well as four rebounds from Antetokounmpo in the first of the Heat’s five exhibitions, but it was the way Antetokounmpo drew traffic and found the open man that so impressed, often with passes that were over the top.
“He makes great plays,” Spoelstra said. “We knew that about him. We faced him in the playoffs three times. But when you really see it every day in practice this week, you appreciate how brilliant of a playmaker he can be.”
With Antetokounmpo going up against the type of multi-player defensive “walls” that have become the de rigueur defensive approach against him for years, there were ample open options to choose from Saturday night. That had the Heat 11 of 23 on 3-pointers in the first half against the Raptors, before Antetokounmpo was given the balance of the night off.
“With the size and the vision, his ability just to put it on the numbers to your shooters is really impressive,” Spoelstra said.
Not that the passing is a passing fancy. Over the past decade, among players 6 feet 10 or taller, only Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has more assists than Antetokounmpo, with Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis and Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant the next two players on that list beyond Antetokounmpo.
While his minutes on Saturday night came separately from Antetokounmpo, reserve guard Pelle Larsson said the view from the bench was confirmation that Antetokounmpo will be providing needed assists this season.
“I mean,” Larsson said, “he’s an incredible passer. I think you saw today he was making the right play every time – driving, kicking out to wide-, wide-open shooters. So, he’s very easy to play with.”
With backup point guard Dru Smith sidelined by a strained right calf sustained during training camp and with two-way player Tre Donaldson the only other point guard on the current roster other than starter Davion Mitchell, there had been concerns about who would make plays.
Then Antetokounmpo stepped up Saturday night and made plays.
And then, when Antetokounmpo stepped aside, the ball movement became contagious with the second unit.
“Obviously, coming in with the second unit, everyone’s great shooters,” Larsson said of a unit highlighted by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 3 of 3 from beyond the arc on Saturday night. “So, the floor felt wide open.”
That certainly felt like the case for forward Andrew Wiggins, the beneficiary of Antetokounmpo’s passing to the tune of 4-of-6 3-point shooting Saturday night.
Wiggins said he envisions the opportunity to thrive with his corner 3-pointers this season.
“For sure. No, for sure,” he said. “You know, Giannis, his gravitational pull in the paint, it’s crazy.”
As has proven Antetokounmpo’s roster pull that had both Larsson and Wiggins extending their contracts this offseason and free agents such as Hardaway and Klay Thompson hopping aboard.
From a team that finished 10th in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs last season, Wiggins said the feeling is of returning to something new, something fresh, something reinvigorating, something better.
“The front office, they definitely did their thing this summer,” Wiggins said, “putting the right pieces together, pieces that work.
“We enjoy playing together. We got Giannis out there doing what he does, dominating. We got Bam, Davion pushing the pace. We got me and Klay on the wings.”