The Miami Heat continued to dominate Las Vegas Summer League by crushing the Toronto Raptors 109-73 on Friday night at Cox Pavilion on UNLV’s campus in the fourth of at least five games in Las Vegas Summer League. Here are some observations from the Heat’s win over the the Raptors:
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▪ The Heat routed the Raptors by 36 points to advance to the Las Vegas Summer League final four with a perfect 4-0 record through four games. Miami is one of just four teams that currently hold an undefeated 4-0 record in Las Vegas and is the top seed based on point differential, defeating opponents by an average of 20.8 points per game.
The Heat closed Friday’s first quarter with a 32-7 lead and pulled ahead by as many as 42 points in the victory.
“It was really fun,” Heat summer league head coach Dan Bisaccio said. “That was a really fun game to be a part of. I feel like I say that every game. But this one was really fun just based on the beginning.”
The Heat will now play in a Las Vegas Summer League semifinal game on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors at 4 p.m. on ESPN at Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV’s campus. The Warriors are the only team that has defeated the Heat in summer league this year, defeating Miami 105-66 in the first game of the California Classic on July 6.
If the Heat wins Sunday, it would advance to Monday night’s Las Vegas Summer League championship game.
Since Las Vegas Summer League introduced a schedule that culminated with a championship in 2013, the Heat has never made the championship game.
“I would say the Miami Heat playing a staff pickup game against somebody else, we’re going to be competitive and we’re going to try to win that,” Bisaccio said of the opportunity to advance to the Las Vegas Summer League championship game with a win on Sunday. “It doesn’t matter what it is. Yeah, of course, we want to make the championship game.”
▪ The Heat opened Friday’s summer league game with a lineup of Isaiah Stevens, Pelle Larsson, Josh Christopher, Cole Swider and Kel’el Ware.
▪ Undrafted forward Keshad Johnson did not play on Friday after spraining his left ankle in Wednesday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. It marked the first game that Johnson has missed since summer league began.
Johnson, who the Heat has already signed to a two-way deal, has been one of the biggest summer league positives for Miami. He has impressed with his motor, physicality and versatility on both ends of the court, averaging 11.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in six summer league appearances for the Heat.
Projected as a three-and-D forward at the NBA level, Keshad has shot 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) on threes and has racked up nine steals and six blocks during his six summer league games.
Whether Johnson is able to return to play in Sunday’s semifinal game remains to be seen.
▪ Ware (the Heat’s first-round pick this year) continued to be a summer league force on both ends, recording his third consecutive double-double with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting on threes and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line, 10 rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block in Friday’s win. It marked his fourth double-double in six summer league appearances.
Four of Ware’s five makes from the field on Friday were dunks.
Since Ware was limited to just three rebounds in the Heat’s first game in Las Vegas, he has grabbed double-digit rebounds in three straight games.
“He got three rebounds. Since that moment, we’ve said you can’t get anything less than 10,” Bisaccio said. “We need you going after those, we need you cleaning the boards and we need you protecting the rim. That’s something that he’s really taken that challenge and he’s running with it.”
▪ Larsson (the Heat’s second-round pick this year) was solid, scoring double-digit points for the second straight game. He finished Friday’s win with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting on threes and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line, one rebound and four assists.
“He’s getting more confident in his ability to attack the paint and make plays for himself and also others,” Bisaccio said of Larsson. “So we’re going to look for him to continue to find that confidence and continue to find his role.”
Both Ware and Larsson are on track to be on the Heat’s standard roster for next season.
▪ Swider impressed for the Heat, totaling a game-high 21 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range in Friday’s victory.
Swider is now shooting 21 of 40 (52.5 percent) from three-point range in six summer league appearances this year.
Swider, who spent last season on a two-way deal with the Heat, is an unrestricted free agent after the Heat withdrew his qualifying offer last week. He is free to sign a two-way deal or standard contract with any NBA team.
“I love the fact that he’s kind of limiting the outside noise and he’s just continuing to compete on the basketball side,” Bisaccio said of Swider continuing to produce amid uncertainty surrounding his contract status. “Because, look, there is an empathy, there’s a human side to this that you understand.”
▪ Christopher’s summer surge continued, finishing Friday’s win with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting on threes, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks.
Christopher, 22, has averaged 17.3 points on 57.1 percent shooting from the field and 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) shooting from three-point range in four Las Vegas Summer League appearances.
Christopher (6-foot-4 and 215 pounds) is a former first-round pick, as he was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 24th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He’s still looking for an NBA contract after spending part of last season with the Heat’s G League affiliate.
▪ Stevens again showed off his playmaking skills, finishing Friday’s victory with four points, four rebounds, eight assists and one steal. The undrafted guard out of Colorado State has dished out 41 assists to 12 turnovers in his last five summer league appearances.
“Isaiah does a great job as our point guard,” Bisaccio said.
Stevens is signed by the Heat to an Exhibit 10 contract, which is essentially an invite to training camp. The Exhibit 10 deal also protects Stevens from being signed away by another team.
▪ Guard Alondes Williams recorded 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal for the Heat’s summer league team.
Like Swider, Williams is an unrestricted free agent after finishing last season as a Heat two-way contract player. The Heat withdrew Williams’ qualifying offer last week.
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