The Miami Heat fell to 0-2 on Friday night, losing 128-111 to the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center, a loss that marked their second straight lopsided loss to open the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.

The former Milwaukee Bucks star largely held up his end in both games and carried the scoring load each time. However, much of the reaction to his latest big night had little to do with his numbers and more with the dismal start to Miami’s Giannis era.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Production Falls Short As Miami’s Season Gets Off to a Rough Start

Antetokounmpo made his mark right away after arriving from Milwaukee. In Wednesday’s season opener, he scored 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting, went 9-of-14 from the free-throw line, and added 6 rebounds in 30 minutes.

His effort did little to slow the Minnesota Timberwolves, however, who rolled to a 131-106 win.

Friday followed a similar script as Detroit raced out to an 11-0 lead, went up 41-26 after the first quarter, and led by as many as 23 points.

Antetokounmpo had an uneven first half, scoring 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting. It was only after the break that the Greek Freak came alive, pouring in 16 points in the third quarter alone. He finished with 36 points on 15-of-26 shooting, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes.

Legion Hoops, an NBA news account, posted the Heat star’s numbers and added a plea of its own: “Heat fall to 0-2. Send help.”

One fan reacted to the franchise’s disappointing start and bluntly remarked, “He literally wanted this, talking about ‘Send help,’ nobody feels bad at all.”

Another NBA observer expressed his criticism for Miami and wrote, “man miss me with send help. He had every contender trying to land him n he picked the ‘Heat.'”

One LeBron James fan brought the 4-time MVP into the conversation: “Bron dodged a massive bullet not going here.”

James was linked to Miami in free agency this past summer, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves. However, the 41-year-old went on to sign a two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

In a July 24 statement explaining his choice, James wrote, “This is my last decision… I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team…”

Meanwhile, NBA Central turned the spotlight on Antetokounmpo’s frontcourt partner, Bam Adebayo.

Adebayo’s night came apart early. He picked up his second foul with 5:50 left in the first quarter. The three-time All-Star was called for his third foul with 1:13 left in the period and eventually fouled out, finishing with 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes.

The shooters around Antetokounmpo struggled too, as Miami shot 15-of-51 from 3-point land, while Detroit went 18-of-38.

Klay Thompson scored 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting, while Andrew Wiggins scored 8 points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Detroit had no such problem, as John Collins scored 23 points and went 5-of-6 on 3s. Duncan Robinson hit 5-of-10 from deep for 17 points, and Paul Reed came off the bench for 19 points and 11 rebounds.

After another poor outing by his team, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was candid in admitting Miami’s struggles but remained optimistic about getting the season back on track.

“We’re facing a little bit of adversity to start. No one wanted to start 0-2 with our first two home games. I do know this about our locker room: they care… (Giannis) really cares. He wants this to work, his teammates really want this to work. We’re gonna get there”

After two shocking results, Miami won’t have long to regroup as they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday as Antetokounmpo continues his hunt for his first win with the Heat.