Miami’s first Summer League win came on the back of first-round pick Nikola Jovic!
In the third-and-final game of the California Classic, the Miami Heat competed Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. The Heat won 94-70 — here are a few immediate takeaways from their performance:
1. Activity on the offensive glass:
Miami was remarkably active on the offensive glass — especially on long-rebounds — in Tuesday’s 24-point win.
The Heat, who won the battle on the boards 53-30, nearly tallied as many offensive rebounds (13) as the Warriors had total boards (14) in the opening half — they finished with 17 offensive rebounds overall. Six Heat players had multiple offensive boards — led by Nikola Jovic (more below) with six.
2. Kyle Allman Jr. is someone to keep an eye on
Allman Jr. was Miami’s last Summer League add, but he’s blossomed into one of its most impressive standouts.
Allman Jr.’s started its last two games and took over lead ballhandling responsibilites Tuesday in-place of Javonte Smart, who sat out Tuesday due to an “off day.” The offense ran smoothly under Allman Jr., propelling it to their best performance of the thus far. He finished with just five points, but added 10 assists, four rebounds and a steal.
3. Today’s Heat standout: Nikola Jovic!
With added reps, Jovic improved throughout the three Summer League contests — both offensively and defensively.
He finished with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, shooting 9-for-16 from the floor with five triples (!!!) on seven attempts in 29 minutes Tuesday. He was the most decisive offensively — letting it fly, attacking closeouts and making touches passes around the perimeter to keep the ball moving. Defensively, moved his feet well and in-front of his assignments as well as making more timely rotations.
It’s been impressive to see how drastically he’s adjusted to the NBA game, even through Summer League parameters. Overall, it was a very good third game for Jovic and should see plenty of added reps in Vegas, too.
Other standouts include Jamaree Bouyea (13 PTS, 6 AST), Orlando Robinson (8 PTS, 4 REB), Bryce Hamilton (9 PTS, 7 REB) and Haywood Highsmith (12 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST), among others!
4. Heat finish 1-2 in California Classic:
It was different without Omer Yurtseven and Max Strus spearheading the attack, but there was significant progress made from a flurry of players — Jovic, Orlando Robinson, Bryce Hamilton, Allman and Bouyea, among plenty others — in San Francisco, Calif. It doesn’t matter much, but the Heat win picked up a Summer League win!
It’s next summer action will be on July 9 in Las Vegas against the Boston Celtics.