ESPN's Kendrick Perkins Makes Bold Claim Regarding Miami Heat's Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Miami Heat have seen this before. 

They have a smooth forward who can impact the game at all five positions on offense and defense. He's also one of the best to ever play the game. And he's a future Hall of Famer who has a championship ring and multiple MVPs. 

It was only 12 years ago the LeBron James era ended with the Heat but things are finally starting to resemble those glory days. The Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the offseason but some are already calling it the LeBron Part Two period. 

That's what ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins recently said when watching Antetokounmpo play in the preseason. What got Perkins so worked up was the Heat lining up Antetokounmpo at the point guard. 

It was similar to the way coach Erik Spoelstra utilized James from 2010-14 when the Heat won two NBA titles in four straight Finals appearances. While James was listed as a small forward, the offense went through him sort of like a point guard. 

Perkins is absolutely correct about the similarities with Antetokounmpo handling the ball more. It solves one of the main issues that many outsiders say will prevent the Heat from winning another championship. Most feel they lack a point guard despite the improvements made by Davion Mitchell. 

Making Antetokounmpo a primary ball-handler could eliminate all of that talk. It puts the ball in his hands as often as possible, allowing him to be in complete control. This would keep Antetkounmpo and Bam Adebayo from clogging the paint. Letting Antetokounmpo create from the perimeter would also free up space for shooters like Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, who may be the biggest beneficiary of all. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's still super early in this experiment, which is what all it is right now. While Antetokounmpo was never technically a point guard during his 13 years with the Bucks, the offense typically went through him. 

If anything, this scenario gives the Heat a different look to show opposing teams. If it becomes a success, it could be the difference in an appearance in the dreaded Play-In Tournament again or becoming an actual contender in the Eastern Conference along with the likes of the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and the defending champion New York Knicks. 

Again, this could just be Spoelstra tinkering with some things but may end up as a winning strategy for the Heat. 

Stay tuned.