Erik Spoelstra gave the Miami Heat a different way to get Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo involved, and the adjustment helped Miami finally get into the win column.
The Heat leaned heavily on pick-and-roll offense in Wednesday’s 129-117 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, moving to 1-4. Adebayo and Antetokounmpo each scored 24 points, giving Miami a productive night from both members of a frontcourt that had struggled to find its balance.
The change went beyond a few extra screens. Miami ran 57 pick-and-rolls against Atlanta, exceeding its highest total from the entire previous season by 10.
That made Wednesday a meaningful response to the problem Spoelstra had identified before the game. After accepting responsibility for helping Adebayo find better attacking opportunities, the coach used an approach that gave his big men more defined jobs within possessions.
Spoelstra pointed to that organization afterward.
“We were a little bit more organized and intentional with how we were trying to get to our attack,” Spoelstra said.
The coach also credited Adebayo’s assertiveness and his ability to handle catches, explaining that his play helped the confidence of those around him. Miami had a change in execution to discuss along with a better result.
Bam Adebayo gets a different path to his scoring spots
Adebayo finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. His 8-of-16 shooting included only one 3-point attempt, and he added an 8-of-9 night at the foul line.
He also passed Udonis Haslem to become Miami’s career rebounding leader. The scoring matters in the context of what Miami had been trying to address.
Davion Mitchell had described the difficulty of keeping Adebayo involved when he and Antetokounmpo wanted to operate in overlapping areas. Mitchell accepted responsibility for helping his teammate remain part of the offense.
Running more actions through a screen and a pass offered a practical answer. It gave Miami a sequence for creating Adebayo’s opportunities rather than relying entirely on him to find an opening after somebody else’s attack had started.
In his postgame breakdown, Brady Hawk highlighted Adebayo receiving the ball while moving into the middle, with Pelle Larsson delivering passes. Hawk’s analysis focused on where Adebayo could catch and attack, an important distinction from simply asking him to take more shots.
First of all, more pick and rolls means Bam Adebayo is back in his comfort spots
Getting to the middle of the floor with a running start
Constant good touch at that dotted line
But notice anything else? Yeah, Pelle is diming pic.twitter.com/lOUEZtr11b
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) October 29, 2026
A catch on the move can make the next decision more immediate: Finish the play, use a short shot or move the ball as help arrives. For Miami, the value is in getting Adebayo into a position where those options are available before the possession becomes crowded.
That does not make every perimeter attempt a mistake. Spoelstra’s earlier explanation left room for Adebayo to take open threes when Antetokounmpo’s drives created them.
Wednesday demonstrated another route to involving him, without requiring a hot outside shooting night to make his scoring contribution substantial.
Giannis takes on more screening work
Antetokounmpo’s part in the adjustment was measurable. He set 24 screens against Atlanta, more than doubling his previous season high of 10 against Dallas.
Mitchell ran 32 pick-and-rolls, compared with a single-game high of 17 last season. Larsson ran 16. Those figures show the change involved both Miami’s big men and the players responsible for getting them the ball.
Those are action counts, not shot totals. A possession can include a screen without ending in a shot for the screener, so the figures describe Miami’s process rather than assigning every resulting basket to one player.
The important comparison is how much more often Miami used those actions. More screening asks Antetokounmpo to help initiate an advantage before he receives a pass.
It also gives a ball-handler a second threat to work with, rather than making the guard and the big man solve separate one-on-one problems. Hawk’s breakdown identified another role for Antetokounmpo near the basket during Adebayo’s actions.
He described Giannis occupying the dunker spot and working for rebounding position, giving him a way to contribute while Adebayo attacked elsewhere.
Here’s the other layer to these Adebayo pick and rolls
Giannis lived in the dunker spot tonight
It means no more of these two running into each other
Plus, Giannis dominated the glass and kept carving out box outs to impact off these type of misses pic.twitter.com/2t9bV39OX5
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) October 29, 2026
That is a useful answer to the spacing question Mitchell raised. Sharing the interior does not require both players to arrive at the same location at the same moment.
A defined off-ball assignment can make the second big man part of the possession without taking away the first player’s route to the ball.
Pelle Larsson gives Miami another pick-and-roll option
The adjustment also placed responsibility on Larsson. Hawk highlighted late actions with Larsson handling and Antetokounmpo rolling, giving Miami another combination to use beyond Mitchell and Adebayo.
But now let’s get into the next layer of business:
Giannis the roller
One of the more exciting elements, and the Heat continue to spam it late with Pelle as the handler
We see it lead to a quality Giannis middy, head of steam and-1 finish, and the best one:
Look at the space… pic.twitter.com/KLzbm1q0r4
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) October 29, 2026
Larsson finished with 17 points and eight assists; Mitchell added 10 points and 10 assists.
Together, their passing offered evidence that the new responsibilities could produce opportunities for teammates. The Heat did not have to make every possession begin with one of their two big men holding the ball and surveying a set defense.
There was a benefit for the shooters, too. In a separate example from the game, Hawk explained how attention on Larsson and Antetokounmpo allowed Tim Hardaway Jr. to move into available space.
Do you know what these Pelle-Giannis spammed actions lead to?
All eyes on those two guys
Watch how Hardaway can now slide into space after his defender gets distracted
This is what a pick and roll, screening, normal offense can create for a struggling offense pic.twitter.com/3LlIwlg2l2
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) October 29, 2026
That illustrates why the adjustment matters beyond the player who sets the screen or takes the shot.
Miami still needs to establish whether this approach can remain productive against different opponents and coverages. A single victory cannot settle the long-term fit of the frontcourt, and Wednesday’s individual scoring totals do not establish how every lineup performed.
What the Heat now have is something specific to build on: more screening from Antetokounmpo, more structured involvement for Adebayo and two guards trusted to connect those actions.
After four losses, Spoelstra’s promise to help his captain came with a visible change in how Miami played.
