Spoelstra: Giannis's foul trouble reminds me of Shaq

The Miami Heat have lost all three games of the season so far. In a 115-110 defeat to the Charlotte Hornets, the team's star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 14 points. The two-time MVP is playing his first season in a Miami uniform. The Greek forward stayed on the floor for 25 minutes and was sent off on fouls with just under two minutes left.

Head coach Eric Spoelstra defended his player at the press conference. Spoelstra said he did not want to tie the result to the referees' decisions. In his view, Giannis faces physically demanding contact in every game, and fouling out despite that creates a contradiction. Spoelstra illustrated the point with an example from Shaquille O'Neal.

During the stretch when Giannis was in foul trouble, Miami turned to Davion Mitchell and Bam Adebayo, along with bench players Pelle Larsson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobby Portis Jr. That group went on a 29-10 run, taking the game through 100, 102 and 104 ties to level the score.

Spoelstra also described the impact of that bench-heavy stretch on the team. He said the system is capable of bringing that energy at every moment of a game. However, the team has not always done so, and he added that they have paid the price for that. According to the coach, that stretch inspired the team, and that inspiration is exactly what they need right now.