Quiet summer debut for Kasparas Jakucionis and other observations from Heat summer league opener

Miami Herald

a day ago

Amid an underwhelming Miami Heat offseason that hasn't yet included much roster change for a team that was swept out of the first round of the playoffs last season, the potential of first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis is one source of hope that better days could be ahead.
But Jakucionis was quiet in his summer league debut, finishing the Heat's summer league opener with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, one rebound, one assist and three turnovers in an 89-62 win over the San Antonio Spurs' summer squad on Saturday at Chase Center in the California Classic. It marked the first of three summer league games that the Heat will play in San Francisco before taking part in Las Vegas Summer League.
Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in this year's draft, started slow. The 19-year-old guard missed two corner threes and was called for a charge on a drive to the basket during the first five minutes of Saturday's contest, and ended up finishing the first half scoreless and without an assist in 10 minutes.
Jakucionis finally recorded his first assist early in the second half, setting up Kira Lewis for a floater with 8:40 left in the third quarter. But Jakucionis' impressive passing ability was on display throughout the game, delivering a few nice passes that didn't go down as assists because his teammates couldn't make those shots.
Jakucionis then scored his first points of the day, drawing a foul on a drive into the paint and then hitting one of the two free throws with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter.
But Jakucionis' first made goal of the game didn't come until there was 6:50 left in the fourth quarter, scoring on a layup in transition off a steal from Heat summer teammate Bryson Warren.
Jakucionis was projected by many before this year's draft to be a lottery pick after averaging 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31.8% from three-point range as a freshman at Illinois last season. But he ended up falling to the Heat at No. 20 in the first round of the draft.
Jakucionis is one of five players on the Heat's summer league team who are on track to be on the Heat's NBA roster this upcoming season.
Like Jakucionis, forward Keshad Johnson, guard Pelle Larsson and center Kel'el Ware are signed to standard contracts by the Heat for next season. Johnson, Larsson and Ware are preparing for their second NBA season after spending their rookie seasons with the Heat and also playing important roles on the Heat's summer league team last year that won the Las Vegas Summer League championship.
Johnson kicked off his second summer league with the Heat on Saturday with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting on threes and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line, nine rebounds and four blocks in 28 minutes.
Larsson recorded a team-high 18 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting from the foul line and 10-of-11 shooting from the foul line and three rebounds in 28 minutes.
Ware contributed 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and three blocks in 27 minutes.
Then there's rookie center Vlad Goldin, who was recently signed by the Heat to a two-way contract after going undrafted last month.
Goldin, 24, spent three seasons at Florida Atlantic before spending his final college season at Michigan. He finished the win with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes in his first summer league game with the Heat.
The Heat opened Saturday's summer opener with a starting lineup of Jakucionis, Lewis, Larsson, Johnson and Ware. The Heat then used guard Erik Stevenson, guard Javonte Cooke, Warren and Goldin off the bench.
The Heat's summer league team is right back at it on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers' summer team at Chase Center (4:30 p.m., NBA TV).
Here are other observations and things to know from Saturday's Heat summer league opener:
▪ Lewis, a high-profile summer league name who was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, closed the victory with four points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 20 minutes in a starting role for the Heat's summer squad.
The 24-year-old Lewis did not play in the NBA last season, instead spending it with the Washington Wizards' G League affiliate.
▪ Stevenson, who went undrafted in 2023 and has spent the last two seasons in the G League, was impressive for the Heat with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting on threes, five rebounds and three assists on Saturday.
▪ Cookie, who went undrafted in 2022 out of Winston Salem State and spent the last three seasons in the G League, contributed eight points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 23 minutes on Saturday.
▪ Both teams struggled to make shots on Saturday, combining to shoot 12 of 61 (19.7 percent) from three-point range.
▪ Summer league games are played with 10-minute quarters instead of the usual 12-minute NBA quarters.