Miami Heat adjustments: Get Trevor Ariza off Giannis Antetokounmpo
For all that is right in the world, the Heat needs to get Trevor Ariza off of the Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive assignment in Game 3. One thing that has become clear for Miami defensively is that Ariza can’t handle Giannis as the primary defender. And that’s OK. He’s not Jae Crowder and the Heat needs to realize that before this series is over.
In response, Spo likely needs to give Bam the primary assignment on Giannis. That will limit the team’s overall and help defense, but the Heat can’t afford to keep throwing Ariza on Giannis knowing that it’s only going to lead to a breakdown in the team defense overall.
There’s likely going to be some cross-matchups in Game 3 and I’m interested to see how Spo elects to move forward with this. If there’s no change on Giannis’ primary defender in Game 3, I’m not sure Miami will be able to get back into this series.
Bam is being paid max money and it’s time for him to get the max responsibility. And if the Heat is going to be competitive in this series, it’s going to have to come on both ends of the floor.