A Full Miami Heat 2024 Summer League Breakdown

We still have two games left of Summer League and this has been so fun to watch. This has honestly been more fun than watching the regular season Miami Heat.

The young players have been hooping. Plenty of potential. And they’re winning! After that awful loss to start, they never looked back and now they might win it all in the next two days.

And despite there still being potentially two games left, all of the main takeaways from it are here. I don’t think anything will happen that will change my view of a player significantly.

That said, there will also be accompanying film breakdowns for each player going through different plays specifically. This is more of the overall thoughts and overview, with extra film added later that goes through individual clips — that will all be joined together for a huge summer league breakdown along with this piece as a video.

So, let’s go through what’s been going on in summer league!

Jaime Jaquez Jr

Starting off with Jaime Jaquez Jr. He had a very brief appearance in the summer league, as it should’ve been. There was no need for him to play any more games than the first two games. There was nothing else that he needed to prove or for the Heat to see. This was solely for the reps and even that didn’t disappoint.

Jaquez still showed how he was too good for summer league and that’s exactly what you want to see.

The first way he showed that was with the things he was already doing well last year. His off the dribble game and getting to the rim was one of the skills he was excelling at. He showed that off, as if it was the easiest thing for him. Yes, the defense isn’t to the NBA standard, but to be able to consistently do it, regardless of competition, is a good sign. If it was that easy, every player would be easily doing it.

Whether it was in transition, early offense, or in the half court… whether it was in isolation, PNR, or off the ball, he was able to get those drives, get past his man, and get to the rim.

He was able to beat guys off dribble or turn the corner and most of the time it didn’t matter if there was traffic inside, he didn’t shy away from the contact. That’s what I loved about his drives. He was making sure to go for that contact to draw fouls too.

Though one thing that does still stand out(something that has been apparent last year too) is he’s at times still out of control or loses it when defenders are there. That has resulted in either a bad miss at the rim or throwing up a shot looking to sell the contact a bit too much.

It’s still a good sign that he looks more comfortable handling the ball and being effective doing so.

Speaking of him handling the ball more, we also saw him be more of a facilitator and making good decisions in a number of different ways

The first thing that I liked is going back to using him as a hub around the high post area. That’s another way that he’s been used already. It’s a simple thing. It’s trusting Jaquez to be the decision maker and trust him to make the right read out of whatever option that comes up. Here, he made the right passes to cutters both times.

The things I was more impressed with is first his willingness to pass. A lot of the times when he was handling the ball, attacking on drives and in the PNR, he was looking to engage the defense to then make plays out of it.

He did it in a number of ways. Whether it was looking to attack and finding cutters in transition, drive and kicks, out of a PNR, or on dumpoffs. He was showing plenty of different passes.

A big surprise, that could be a difference maker if this is legit, was the 3pt shooting.

There were two ways he got those 3s that raised an eye. First, it was in early offense. Whenever he run, he walked into that 3pt shot off the catch in rhythm with no hesitation to quickly let it fly. There wasn’t anything slow or unwilling. That confidence can be big if it will be applied in other ways of getting 3s off. If he can be a legitimate threat from 3pt without the ball where the willingness to shoot is always there(of course, he will also need to make them), then that’s going to be huge the impact he can have off ball.

It was also his on-ball 3pt shooting that stood out. That was off a PNR and it was again the confidence to take those shots in the first place that was huge. Right now, the defense can go under his screens and that does make life harder if they know that you won’t take a 3pt. Now, if it carries on that he’s willingly taking them, then that changes everything. It will make the defense second question what they need to do or have them respect the 3pt shot to the point where they bite on his fake and that opens up that drive and kick, like in the clip above.

And that all happened because at that point, he made 3 3s and the defense bit on the fake. That makes life easier where you can have him be placed one pass away if the defense respects his shot because he has the skill to make them pay if they take that 3pt away.

Overall, even though this was just two games to get some reps in, it was good to see all of the things that was working for him still work as effectively and refining those skills. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a much more confident Jaquez and be used in more on-ball opportunities than before.

Pelle Larsson

Heading into the summer league, I was interested to see what Pelle Larsson was going to do. His college stats checked out and though they were just highlights, they showed a lot of good stuff that could translate. I came looking mostly for his offensive game with how he could fit as a role player seeing how he could knockdown 3s, has a mid-range game, get to the rim, and his passing ability.

There have been flashes there offensively that showed a bunch of promise, but most of his work offensively was doing all the little simple things. It was knowing when to cut, how to move off ball, making the extra pass, and being able to work and do something other than scoring with a ball. That was great to see. Those are the smart plays that can easily translate and add to teams filled with stars.

But beyond that and the flashes, it has been a bit underwhelming to not see more of what he could do. It’s not that I think he has the potential to be an on-ball scorer, but I at least wanted to see if that is there at summer league level. If that ability is there, then that obviously has a better chance of potentially translating.

The first thing that stood out was the off-ball play. He was making smart decisions and has attacked moving defenses well.

I liked this a lot, especially on this team. The Heat need better, active, and willing cutters. That’s what he’s been doing. Whether it was cutting behind the defense when they’re not looking, cutting into space, or making those timely 45 cuts to take advantage of another advantage. Three different cuts, but all very impactful.

This was one of the main ways of being used and that’s attacking closeouts. I liked how that looked. It felt like it was an even split between attacking for himself by driving to the rim(even through contact) and attacking to make reads elsewhere. He looked capable of making decisions on the move, whether that was a kick, dumpoffs, or even lobs

Speaking off his passes. That was one of the highlights. He’s definitely a capable passer and also one that wants to look for passes. The most common way he wants to pass are those lob passes out of PNR. I counted four lob passes out of a PNR. But he’s also shown he can even make skip passes(though not as common as the lob). The reaction and processing speed on some of those reads was good too.

Although only once, he was used in a similar way as Jaquez with being a high post hub:

I think this ability will be one of the things he does offensively that can translate the most and what will help the team the most. You can never have too many connective pieces that helps the offense flow with good, smart ball movement.

There were flashes off some self creation

The thing that I liked the most is how he doesn’t shy away from the contact at all. He’s going to attack and go into bodies to draw fouls. But the finishing needs to get better. There were many times the shot was off and it wasn’t even near. The finishing through contact needs to be better, or even, making sure that you don’t always have to make a tough finish. His looks at the rim have almost always felt tough.

So, offensively going forward there are quite a bit of question marks for me and whether he’ll be able to get minutes. It’s less about a question of whether “what” he does that could translate but more is it good enough right now.

What could get him minutes is how he plays defense. That was a very nice surprise because I do think he’s like that on defense. He definitely showed that so far in the summer league.

The first thing is his hustle. He wants to play defense. He’ll be go up in your face. He will pick you up full court(and be successful). He will be aggressive.

There was never a feeling of him lacking effort or being selective when he wants to play defense.

I think that aggression and being locked in, is why he did a great job with the screen navigation and chasing off ball

First, his screen navigation was on point. His effort and technique stood out the most. There were times he wasn’t even getting screened and even if he did, the recoveries were there.

That was also the case for his off ball chasing. Similar thing with him being locked in and capable of chasing well without dying on the screens.

I do think these two defensive skills can get him minutes, especially on this team. Him being 6’5 with a 6’8 wingspan helps a lot too. I can definitely see him being used in spot minutes as a defensive perimeter player and that will be needed.

His 1v1 defense also impressed me and it’s again another reason why I can see him get minutes. He can hold his own. After he recovered after going over screens, he put up fight in either not giving up an advantage period or recovering well enough to contest or bother the shot. I don’t see him get abused or picked on in mismatches, especially with guys his size.

His defense certainly was the thing that stood out and it will most likely be the thing that gets him minutes, if he does play. And because of this, it’s why I enjoyed his time in the summer league.

Josh Christopher

Josh Christopher was a fun surprise. A former first round pick that had already played two years with the Houston Rockets. And just looking at his stats in those two years(plus his time in college), there are signs why he’s even in summer league still as a player heading into his fourth season.

The awful 3pt shooting, lack of passing, and turnover issues. That’s why he did have a low 16.2% assist percentage in his two years with the Rockets, but on top of that, had a 16.1% turnover percentage. Not a great combination. You combine that with 27.7% from deep and you can see why he’s playing here. From what I read elsewhere, the defensive stuff was also an issue.

But in the summer league, it’s been pretty much all praises for me.

His defense was the first thing that stood out. He looked like he wanted to make an impression that he’s a defender. The effort was noticeable. He was pressing full court, not giving up an advantage, he was active off ball with his stunts, rotations & recoveries, and his 1v1 defense was good.

That last point with how he looked defending 1v1 and defending drives was the main thing. He’s another player that is 6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan and I think that played a part in why he was able to switch up top seamlessly then hold his own with whoever attacked him. The tools, the effort, and the willingness to play hard defense has been there. Similar to Larsson, this will be the thing that gets him minutes.

Offensively, there were a bunch of things to like too and it’s not talking about his 20+pt outburst in the fourth quarter.

The first impression that I got from him is that he’s looking to pass and has been able to do so in different ways.

The simplest form of passing was that extra, swing pass. Based on what was said on the broadcast, this appeared to have been an issue with him and in these games, the effort to make that extra pass felt noticeable.

The main pass that I enjoyed from him was ones in transition. He was looking to set guys up and some of those passes were damn good. I do feel like he has that feel on making passes that wouldn’t necessarily be open for others or even attempted — though that can be a cause for concern given his past turnover issue. He feels like a risk taker.

I was most impressed with his PNR and off dribble passes. That’s where he did showcase some pretty good passing ability and vision. He had a couple of good wrap around passes, lobs, and has been able to get kicks off drives going too. The potential for on-ball creation was there.

As far his on-ball creation, I like those drives. He can attack and get to the rim — that was the case even with the Rockets with him being able to get to and finish at the rim & around the paint. He did so off the dribble or off the catch. You can never have too many guys that can beat guys off dribble in multiple ways and get to the rim.

His 3pt shooting is the question mark. He did show off some off dribble ability with those pull ups and it would do wonders for him if he’s able to mix in some of those shots to be a threat.

That mostly applies to his C&S 3pt. If he can knock down those jumpers, which he’s done a good job so far, then that can get him minutes. Being a sub 30% is tough to be on the floor if you don’t have the ball. If that can turn into a 35% shooter, then that’s huge.

He’s one of the players that I do think needs to have a 2-way contract and would be disappointing if they let him go. He has all the things that they’d like with some fine tuning. If he can continue to be a smart passer(whilst turning down on those turnovers), attack the rim, play defense, and knockdown 3s, I don’t see why he shouldn’t be on the team.

Isaiah Stevens

I love Stevens. Anyone that can pass at an elite level, I will enjoy watching, and man, he can pass.

There wasn’t a single pass that I didn’t see him be able to make. He was doing it all. I’ve lost count of how many highlights he’s had in each game. It was almost a guarantee that he was getting near double digit assists because he 100% is averaging around 13–15 potential assists.

I have 32 clips of him making a pass that created an advantage — whether it was a lob, dumpoff, kick, a secondary assist, a potential assist — and that’s still missing many others. He was creating advantages with ease and a lot of it stemmed from him being a high level playmaker.

Let’s start with the alley oops and lobs because they’re fun. If you’re running the break and he has the ball in his hands, just go ahead and jump. He’s gonna find you right away — on that note, his processing speed on recognising the window opening is fast.

In a similar way, he’s been able to find cutters with ease. If you’re running, cutting, or jumping to the rim, he will find you even if the window is tight. And those looks at the rim are one of the highest valuable shots you can find. Having that ability to make those reads for those looks can be a huge difference maker. That can amount to leaving 8–10pts on the table each night.

Next, comes his PNR passes, which were probably the best out of anyone in the summer league. He was making sure to feed his big man whenever he could. He was throwing them lobs, dump-offs, pops, on the pocket pass, and any tight window that was open.

His passes out of the PNR to his bigs are probably the one reason why he needs to be on the team and why I need to see him play with Adebayo.

Another very highly impactful skill is being able to get paint touches and consistently be able to make reads to kick out or make skip passes. These are also the passes that I think could translate the most. They are tough to make, especially at the volume and ease Stevens was making them at. This is similar to leaving points on the table as mentioned above, but here, these passes can lead to further advantages being created. These passes can be the difference maker between a possession being in the mud or not by exploiting help because if you can’t exploit help, then the defense recovers and there’s no advantage.

He definitely made an impression as a passer.

But as good as that is, I would’ve hoped to see some more aggression from him as a scorer

He had some good possessions scoring when he was looking to score. He particularly likes that double drag screen to either go into a pull up 3pt, floater, or at times get to the rim. The openings for his shots have been there, so I’d like to see more of him look for it. If he can add that pull up 3pt threat, that could open up his passing even more.

And speaking of his 3pt, he has shown to be able to hit open C&S 3pt, which is a great sign to see knowing he can be played off the ball. He moved without the ball well into spaces and can do this too:

He was attacking closeouts well and once that happens, you give him a paint touch, and he can create stuff out of that.

Defensively, I don’t know if there’s anything special. His size will probably make things a bit difficult but I liked the effort and the hustle. In the California classic, he was looking to fight over screens like mad and recover to contest. If there’s a willingness to play defense and be a pest at that size, that’s great.

He 100% deserves to be a lock for the 2-way.

Kel’el Ware

Finally, we have the main rookie, Kel’el Ware. The one that, outside of Jaquez, this year has the most potential. This is a player that the Heat haven’t had in a long while. An actual big, big with the length that can move well and jump high. His size and athleticism have been on full display already with some major highlights.

I came away feeling positive about him. There have definitely been plenty of signs filled with potential and where exactly he could fill some holes. But that’s honestly it at the moment.

The expectations for any kind of significant role just aren’t there yet, but that’s mostly with the overall role of a big being difficult to do, especially for a young one.

The first thing that stands out with Ware is his size and length on both ends of the floor.

On the offensive end, it’s all the lobs, putbacks and dunks. He will be an easy target for those looks and he’s probably going to do a great job at cleaning up possessions on putbacks or coming in as a cutter.

The lobs, though, may be tricky given the Heat’s personnel. They already have Bam Adebayo and he struggles with getting consistent lobs. Ware probably will have it a bit easier being way bigger but I still think he won’t be as maximised with the current guard play. And through no fault of his own, that is one of the reasons why his impact won’t be as high offensively.

He still showed to be quite smart with cuts, knowing when and how to cut. Instead of having a Caleb Martin in the dunker spot, it will be a much bigger target to have when you see a 7fter cut along the paint. He will also be a body that defenders will likely have to really put a body on to stop him too, which will draw more help. And in a similar way, he did show at times some strong rolls and was easily able to finish with strong dunks.

That is likely to be his main way of getting offense. Being a big with rolls, lobs, and cuts. But how effective that will be will likely depend a lot on the guard play and players setting him up instead of something that he will do. Though the wild tools probably does give them a bit more of a ceiling.

He did showcase some post-work & self-creation in the mid-range. The mid-range was more on display early on in the summer league and he did look pretty confident doing so. I don’t know how legit the shot is or how much it will be used in but I do think the touch can be there around the paint.

The post-offense was a bit of a concern. That shouldn’t be used at any considerable volume. I didn’t really like the looks that he got out of it, especially when matched with someone his size. And I’d say pretty much every post-up possession ended with him. I don’t remember any kickouts or passes out of it. That’s not a good sign at all. This shouldn’t be in the playbook for his offense.

Though there was some positive with him punishing mismatches well. If that’s the case, I can see him attacking a smaller guard well enough to get easy looks at the rim. That does prevent teams from putting anyone smaller on him.

There wasn’t much use of him as a “3&D” center. There were a couple of possessions with him popping out, taking a 3pt as a trailer, and one off-ball play with him starting off in the corner, lifting for the shot. Outside of that, I didn’t see much potential as a shooter or a spacer yet. This is very work in progress.

I do wonder what he’s going to look like offensively.

Defensively, his size and length also showed up a lot.

I do like him in those positions where he’s able to be that weakside help or come over to clean up with the length and bother the shots. That’s where I can see him being impactful defensively right away. Just attempting to go at someone who’s that tall with those lanky arms is going to be a challenge.

That helps him a lot too. Whenever he’s out of position or gets beat, that is a big safety net where he’s able to recover quicker.

Though one concern came up is with the effort and his awareness at times. There were times when he just didn’t look engaged and missed the rotation, missed a boxout, was ball-watching, and got back cut. One of the games, it was a lot of it and that just can’t happen at that volume.

When it comes to his PNR coverage, he was mostly used in drop and that’s been a mix of good and bad.

There were positives and it again has to do with that length. I did like how he’s been able to keep the ball handler in front, and have active hands to take away the shot, pocket passes, or lobs initially. There were many times he was also used in a late switch to contest those pull-ups and those contests are made easier with those arms.

But there was also many meh stuff around too. He looked to be occupied with the ball handler too many times when he let the roll be wide open. The effort wasn’t there all the time either.

The block hunting and constant biting were a big concern too. In one of the games that was noticeable. The discipline needs to be a lot better.

This side of the ball is definitely a question mark, especially when going up against better talent because there were many of those negatives that could hurt a lot. But, with the tools he has, it can be cleaned up. After that one game, the block hunting and awareness weren’t that bad, so there’s a promise. I also wonder if he’s more versatile defensively. Is he able to play different coverages effectively or is there any positional, role versatility too?

Right now, though, I wouldn’t expect high minutes right away or be involved as much.