Erik Spoelstra had plenty to say about the officiating after the Miami Heat suffered another frustrating loss. His biggest concern centered on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who fouled out late in a 115-110 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. The Heat coach argued that the physicality surrounding his two-time MVP often goes unpunished.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Miami trailed by as many as 22 points in the third quarter but mounted a comeback behind Davion Mitchell, Bam Adebayo and the reserves. The Heat eventually pulled even at 104 after Giannis Antetokounmpo returned with five minutes remaining and helped set up Adebayo for a dunk. However, a loose-ball foul followed by a shooting foul ended the Greek Freak’s night before Miami could complete the comeback.
“He’s a physical force with the ball in his hands. And whether defenders are protecting themselves from that force or not, that’s a foul,” Spoelstra said after the third loss of the season. “You can’t protect yourself and deliver blows when he’s (Giannis) under the basket and trying to gather himself. The traveling call, I think there was three fouls before that.
“I’m not making this game about the official, so everybody else can just kick rocks about that. I’m just talking about the physicality that he endures every game, and then he’s the one that fouled out. He doesn’t foul out very much, but that’s the tough part of coaching or officiating a player like him. That’s like Shaq, you’re defending yourself, and so there’s a lot more physicality with stronger players than is allowed with guys that are smaller.”
Spoelstra knows the challenge from coaching Shaquille O’Neal. He worked alongside Shaq during the center’s time in Miami, serving as an assistant coach, and later became head coach in 2008. At 7-foot-1 and well over 300 pounds during his prime, O’Neal forced defenders to find ways to handle his strength near the basket.
Double-teams and heavy contact became common defensive tactics. Spo sees a similar challenge with Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose powerful drives put defenders in difficult positions. While the head coach is not outrightly blaming the officials, the slow start is seemingly adding to the pressure.
The loss dropped Miami to 0-3, marking the franchise’s worst season-opening stretch since 2007-08 and the first time Spoelstra has started a season with three straight defeats as head coach. Before tonight, Giannis Antetokounmpo had scored 35 points against Minnesota and 36 against Detroit in the previous two losses.
Against Charlotte, he managed just 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting, along with six rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes. His minus-20 rating was the worst on the team. Which is why some fans even questioned why a lineup change was called in the fourth quarter as Giannis Antetokounmpo entered with five minutes remaining. His limited contribution and foul trouble ultimately became a larger talking point.