\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792473736_513_AnthonyChiang-Profile.jpg\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
The Miami Heat usually has high expectations on the defensive end. But the Heat\u2019s expectations for its defense this season are even higher than usual after adding 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo this past summer.<\/p>\n
After finishing with a top-10 defensive rating in nine of the last 11 regular seasons, the Heat believes it can crack the top three in that category for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Heat, led by the shot-blocking ability of Alonzo Mourning, recorded the NBA\u2019s best defensive rating for the 1996-97 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is to be No. 1 in defense,\u201d Heat center Bam Adebayo said. \u201cTop three, at least. \u201c<\/p>\n
The Heat\u2019s projected starting lineup of Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson (one All-Defensive team selection), Andrew Wiggins, Antetokounmpo (five All-Defensive team selections) and Adebayo (six All-Defensive team selections) includes 12 combined NBA All-Defensive selections. And the two players in the Heat\u2019s starting unit who haven\u2019t yet earned that honor \u2014 Mitchell and Wiggins \u2014 are both considered quality perimeter defenders.<\/p>\n
But the Heat\u2019s preseason defensive numbers were underwhelming, finishing its five-game exhibition schedule with the NBA\u2019s 26th-ranked defensive rating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have really good defenders,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to learn how to play as a team defensively. I mean, it\u2019s a new group, so you don\u2019t expect us to click like that. I think the preseason [practices] were really good and training camp was really good. We just got to put it together in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like in practice we\u2019re doing a really good job, but we got to put it together in the game. We\u2019re all really good individual defenders. And I think that sometimes we get lost in how good the defender is. So we kind of don\u2019t help as much. We think he got it. But it\u2019s a team game for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Heat knows its defense must be sharp for Wednesday\u2019s regular-season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Kaseya Center. The Timberwolves, led by the dynamic backcourt pairing of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball, are expected to feature one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working at it, and we know that we\u2019ll need our defense being at its best version on Wednesday,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. \u201cWe have a team coming in that can put points on the board in a similar way to how we can. They\u2019re a running team. They\u2019re a very good pick-and-roll team, very good isolation team, so they can do it in a lot of different ways. We\u2019ll get our defense right and ready for Wednesday night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting healthy<\/p>\n
Every player on the Heat\u2019s roster was able to go through practice Monday. That\u2019s a good sign for Heat guards Pelle Larsson (illness) and Dru Smith (right calf strain) in terms of their availability for Wednesday\u2019s regular-season opener after both missed time this preseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both practiced today. So they\u2019re trending that way,\u201d Spoelstra said Monday when asked whether Larsson and\/or Smith will be available for Wednesday\u2019s opener. \u201cWe\u2019ll see. But yeah, they went through a very demanding practice. … That\u2019s a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n
This and that<\/p>\n
\u25aa Adebayo welcomes the higher expectations surrounding this new-look Heat roster following the offseason addition of Antetokounmpo: \u201cIt\u2019s good we have expectations. I feel like we lost that the last couple years of people thinking we\u2019re going to be below .500, not a lot of people expecting us to win. That just brings good energy in our locker room that we feel like we can win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mitchell said he doesn\u2019t pay attention to the outside noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther people\u2019s opinion don\u2019t matter,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThey have their own opinion. They have their own perception on who we are. They\u2019re not in the gym with us. They haven\u2019t been in practice. So it is what it is. I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Spoelstra has an idea of what the Heat\u2019s rotation will look like for the opener, but he has made it clear that the rotation will \u201cbe fluid\u201d throughout the season because of the Heat\u2019s depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur depth, like I\u2019ve said, is a big strength of ours,\u201d Spoelstra emphasized. \u201cWe\u2019ll be utilizing it throughout the course of the season, which means guys will have their opportunities, and they understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n