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By Aman Sharma
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Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra wants Giannis Antetokounmpo to play with “a touch of Magic Johnson,” after the forward carried Miami past the Detroit Pistons.
He made it even though Antetokounmpo had just posted a line no player in franchise history had produced.
Spoelstra’s ask is about moving the ball sooner when defenses send extra help, so teammates get involved earlier. Against Detroit, the forward scored 34 points with 14 rebounds and eight assists on 13-of-17 shooting.
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That made him the first Heat player to reach at least 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while making at least 75% of his shots in one game.
Spoelstra explained the comparison postgame.
“We need that. We need a touch of Magic Johnson with him. He’s shouldering a ton of responsibility.”
The coach said Antetokounmpo was “literally making that look easy,” and then asked for more.
“But he also has to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the offence in a flow. That means when there’s defenders loading up, bringing a third defender, oftentimes it’s that early kick-out that gets guys in a rhythm or that quick triple handoff.
“He’s getting better at getting up the floor and letting D Mitch get us into offence. All of these things take a little bit of time.”
He kept going.
“He’s a willing guy to be able to help our offence grow exponentially, and that’s by maximizing his incredible talent but also his mind to be able to get other guys involved and let them become X factors in the game.”
Both men pair huge frames with the ability to charge up the court in transition, which makes defenses cave in.
Johnson, though, was a point guard who looked to pass first and prided himself on feeding teammates. Antetokounmpo does most of his damage by attacking the rim downhill.
His best pass against the Pistons was a between-the-legs feed to Klay Thompson.
Thompson gave the Heat a second scoring threat, finishing with 26 points and hitting 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Antetokounmpo added a late 3-pointer with Miami well ahead.
Spoelstra’s own quote rounded the assists up to “almost 10.” The box score showed eight.
Antetokounmpo had already put his teammates on notice after Miami beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Spoelstra’s checklist for what comes next is specific: quicker kick-outs against a third defender and more trips where D Mitch gets the Heat into their offense.
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