The Heat acquired plenty of talent during the offseason, but the new-look roster only has two wins in its first seven games, Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel writes in a subscriber-only piece. The blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t paid immediate dividends, but Bobby Portis, who also came to Miami in that deal, cautions that it takes time to adapt to playing alongside a superstar.

“I don’t think it’s just Giannis. I think it’s just basketball in general,” Portis said. “It’s not a 2K game, where you just put guys on the team and it works. I think it’s a process. You’ve got to go through the highs and lows of what the season presents to you. All teams peak at the right time that have a chance of winning.”

Antetokounmpo has been sensational in his new surroundings, averaging 28.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in seven games while shooting 58.6% from the field. He was asked after Monday’s loss to the Lakers whether there’s enough talent around him to contend for a title.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just a basketball player. I just came here to compete. Do I think we have the pieces? Yeah. Do I think we got a lot of things to figure out? We have a lot. But I know what the Miami Heat culture is about. I know what the players in this locker room are about. I know what I’m about. And I know that once we get on the right track, we can make some noise.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

• Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s patience may be wearing thin, Winderman tweets. “Clearly, we have to make some adjustments now,” Spoelstra said in a meeting with the media before Wednesday’s game against the Clippers. “I’m not waiting.”
• Kon Knueppel played less than six minutes during his season debut tonight in Brooklyn before leaving with soreness in his left leg, the Hornets announced (Twitter link). Knueppel missed the first eight games of the season with a strained left hamstring.
• Wizards rookie AJ Dybantsa has had his minutes restriction removed, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). The top pick in this year’s draft suffered a sprained ankle in the team’s final preseason game and didn’t make his regular season debut until October 28.
• When Dybantsa started alongside Anthony Davis and Deandre Ayton Monday in Orlando, it marked the first time since 1984 that a team had three overall No. 1 picks in its starting lineup, the Wizards tweeted. The Mavericks matched that tonight with Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving and Zaccharie Risacher all starting at San Antonio, notes Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
• The Magic hope to turn their season around during a four-game western swing following a 2-5 start, states Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscriber link). “Anytime you go on the road, the idea is that you work together, bind together and ultimately become closer and better because of it,” coach Sean Sweeney said. “That’s part of the idea, is to get better and get closer together.”