Spoelstra likens Giannis' playmaking to Magic after Heat preseason debut

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra highly praised Giannis Antetokounmpo's playmaking Saturday after the 10-time All-Star dished out seven assists in 14 minutes in his preseason debut against the Toronto Raptors.

"He makes great plays. We knew that about him. We faced him in the playoffs three times," Spoelstra said after Miami's 129-105 victory in Quebec City, per The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "But when you really see it every day in practice this week, you appreciate how brilliant of a playmaker that he can be.

"With the size and the vision and his ability to put it on the numbers to shooters is really impressive. Pat (Riley) was at practice all week, and the way he's played with the ball in his hands and delivering the ball, he reminds all of us of a great big point guard that played for Pat back in the '80s."

All seven of Antetokounmpo's assists Saturday led to threes. He set up Andrew Wiggins for the Heat's first bucket of the game and connected with the former No. 1 pick a total of four times - all within the first half.

In addition to scoring nine points, Antetokounmpo also facilitated threes for Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, and Tim Hardaway Jr., with all his assists coming from a similar drive-and-kick pattern off double teams.

The 31-year-old steadily improved as a facilitator over 13 seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Before a down year in his final season in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo posted a career-best 6.5 assists per game, along with 30.4 points and 11.7 rebounds, over the two prior seasons.

The Heat will return to Miami for their next three preseason contests, beginning with Thursday's matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. They then close out their exhibition slate on Oct. 16 in Orlando against the Magic.