After signing Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Miami Heat had every expectation of being a top team in the East. Eight games in, however, and reality has set in fast for the franchise after a rocky 3-5 start. At ninth in the standings, the Heat are far from where they want to be, but nobody is panicking just yet.

In a recent chat with the media (before Thursday’s game against the Heat), head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke on his team’s ongoing struggles and what it means for their championship ambitions. He likened their current play to certain stretches of the “big three” era, especially early on when they went 9-8 through their first 17 games.

“Dwyane came by today, and he was talking about it with Bam, Giannis and I,” Spoelstra told ClutchPoints. “That year, we started 9-8, but it was different. Different challenges. That team was a spectacular defensive team from day one, and we had to go through a lot of really tough, uncomfortable things offensively to get everybody on the same page and to unlock that season.”

“And that wasn’t the only time we struggled. After we went 9-8, then we won 21 out of 22, but then I reminded Dwyane that I was way more uncomfortable heading into the playoffs because we were playing great basketball, and we had a home-stand about a month before the playoffs started. And we lost five straight home games heading into that playoff stretch. So each season is different. You have to manage whatever comes your way, stick to your process, quiet the noise, and get to work to try to improve regardless of the team or whatever’s happening with them.”

No doubt, there are major similarities between the early stages of the LeBron era and what we’re seeing with Giannis right now. Despite having Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at his side, it took LeBron weeks before he finally had the Heat playing up to their potential. In the same way, it could take Giannis weeks to get the Heat in a better place in the East.

Then again, there are a lot of things that make this particular season unique. For starters, the defense isn’t nearly the same, and it’s been virtually non-existent this year. For Spoelstra, addressing the issues on that end of the floor is the key to turning their trajectory around.

“It’s different,” Spoelstra added. “And I know people would love to compare the teams. That team was a great defensive team from day one. We were electrifyingly fast and playmakers and put pressure on teams. We were winning games with our defense and it was clunky offensively. And we had to really work at that. Like I said, some of the offensive things, even if our guys don’t necessarily feel like it’s really smooth, we’ve put up some big numbers in some of the games. There’s some things that have gone a lot better early offensively for us than maybe we anticipated.”

“But this is a different feel. But it is what it is. This is how our season started. Our defense has been poor, and we’ve paid the price for it, and now we have to dig ourselves out of this hole and build this defense. And do it day after day after day. It’s not like the challenge automatically becomes easy tomorrow.”

With averages of 28.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game on 56.2% shooting this season, Giannis is clearly doing everything he can to carry the Heat and stop the bleeding. So far, his efforts have mostly been in vain, and it has put the Heat in an early hole they are determined to climb out of.

The good news is that Spoelstra is responding with poise and patience, ensuring his team stays the course without losing faith. It’ll be easier said than done, but success starts with revamping the defense, which may require more than just a simple change in strategy.