BOCA RATON, Fla. — The Miami Heat are on the court. The team held day one of training camp on Tuesday at Florida Atlantic University.
Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo went one-on-one during camp, with the former best defensive player in the league challenging the most versatile defender the Heat has ever seen.
WATCH BELOW: Bam, Giannis take the court as Heat training camp begins
Head coach Erik Spoelstra said he welcomes that competitive energy between the two.
"I want that competitive spirit when they are going at each other," Spoelstra said.
But Spoelstra said getting the two stars playing together is just as important as the individual competition.
"We also need to get them on the same page, playing together. I want to get those reps, in this preseason," Spoelstra said.
That includes reps on defense, where the Adebayo-Antetokounmpo pairing could create serious problems for opposing offenses.
"We noticed that the last three, two, three, four years that teams were scheming against Bam's defense. Just like you have to scheme against Giannis' defense. Now we have two guys that can do both things. Hopefully that will really help I'll make our defense more dynamic," Spoelstra said.
Spoelstra said having both players on the floor at the same time opens up more opportunities defensively.
"It'll allow them each to make more plays, defensive plays in the paint, blocks, deflections, stops," Spoelstra said.
Adebayo and Antetokounmpo both said they plan to push each other in practice to elevate the team's defense.
"We're a fast team, but not only are we fast, we're switchable, we talk, we communicate, everybody can guard their yard. And that's one through five and from that standpoint, I feel like we're going to be really good." Adebayo said.
"Because the defense is mindset and effort and I feel like we have guys around the team that have that," Antetokounmpo said.
On the offensive end, players including Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and Klay Thompson got in plenty of shots during practice. Spoelstra said this year the team is turning the page and starting something new.
The Heat will continue to practice at Florida Atlantic University throughout the week before heading to Toronto to face the Raptors in a preseason game Saturday.
