Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo can make their partnership work by taking turns initiating offense, moving toward the basket and attacking after the first pass. Miami’s early training-camp evidence points toward an offense in which both remain active creators, with Adebayo’s outside shooting supplying one part of the spacing.

The Heat open preseason against the Toronto Raptors on October 3 in Quebec City. That gives Miami its first game opportunity to explore the partnership after a camp in which Erik Spoelstra emphasized getting the two stars repetitions together. WFLX’s training-camp report

What happens to Adebayo’s defender when Giannis gets the ball—and what does Giannis do when Bam has it?

Bam can attack after Giannis starts the possession

Two possessions from a September 29 team practice video offer a limited but concrete illustration. According to Heat Nation’s account of the footage, Antetokounmpo passes ahead to Adebayo for a basket in one sequence. In another, Adebayo receives the ball outside the paint, beats his first defender off the dribble and finishes as help approaches. Klay Thompson participates in screening movement before the pass on that second play. Heat Nation’s breakdown

The early pass reaches Bam before the defense gets organized. The later action gives him the ball with an opportunity to drive. Neither requires him to begin by creating a shot against a settled defense.

Adebayo receiving the ball outside the paint does not automatically mean his assignment is to shoot a three. Where his defender stands, and whether that defender is moving when the pass arrives, determines whether he can attack.

These are selected practice possessions, so they show possible ways for Miami to attack, not how often those opportunities will arise or how effective the offense will be against opponents.

Giannis also has an assignment without the ball

Spoelstra has explicitly described the reverse arrangement. In a September 29 interview with the Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, he discussed cutting and possessions in which Adebayo makes the play while Antetokounmpo works off the ball. Winderman’s interview, syndicated by Yahoo Sports

In a hypothetical possession with Bam holding the ball above the paint, a Giannis cut can make a defender turn and follow him toward the rim. That can produce a passing opportunity inside. If another defender steps across to help, it can also create a pass to the player that defender leaves.

The timing matters. If Giannis arrives underneath the basket before a passing lane opens and stays there, his defender can remain close to the rim. A cut creates useful space when it forces a defender to react at a moment when a teammate can take advantage.

Alternating who handles the ball can therefore matter more than alternating who takes the shot: it gives Miami different ways to make the defense move before the finish.

An open Bam jumper and an open lane are different outcomes

After Friday’s practice, Adebayo told Winderman that playing alongside Antetokounmpo would produce open shots, drawing on his experience of how Miami had defended Giannis. That suggests shooting opportunities for Bam, but it does not establish how closely opponents will guard him away from the basket. Winderman’s October 2 report

A defense can deliberately concede an outside shot to keep another body near Giannis. If Adebayo takes and makes those shots often enough to change that choice, his shooting creates more driving room. If the defender stays back, Miami still needs a way to use the available space through a shot, a drive or another action.

For viewers, the revealing detail is the defender’s response. Does Bam’s catch bring someone out of the lane? Does Giannis’s cut pull help away from another player? Does the next pass arrive before the defense resets? Those movements explain how the partnership is functioning even on possessions when the eventual shot misses.