Summer League action will come to an end on Monday night as the Heat and Grizzlies battle for the championship in Las Vegas. Both teams have compiled 5-0 records in Vegas, and both reached the finals with narrow wins on Sunday.
Miami edged the Warriors, 102-99, using a late 27-11 run to erase a 10-point third quarter deficit, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The victory avenged a 39-point loss to Golden State in the California Classic.
“We always want to win,” said Heat Summer League head coach Dan Bisaccio. “So no matter what, when we have an opportunity to win a championship, of course we’re going for it. It doesn’t matter if it’s Summer League, it doesn’t matter if it’s some kind of spring ball. Whatever it is, we’re always going to want an opportunity to compete for a championship.”
Free agent guard Josh Christopher had 23 points to lead Miami, with 13 of those coming in the fourth quarter. First-round pick Kel’el Ware contributed 18 points and five rebounds, while second-rounder Pelle Larsson filled the stat sheet with 21 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The shorthanded Grizzlies were missing Jake LaRavia, Cam Spencer and Zach Edey due to injuries, but they were able to edge the Clippers, 99-98, per Josh Crawford of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Second-round pick Jaylen Wells was 6-of-7 from three-point range while scoring 20 points, and 2023 second-rounder GG Jackson also had 20 points. Scotty Pippen Jr., who joined Memphis on a two-way deal in January, posted a triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
LaRavia was held out of Sunday’s game due to lingering knee soreness, Crawford adds, while Spencer and Edey were both inactive after leaving Thursday’s contest with minor injuries. None of them are expected to play tonight, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel.
Memphis will be trying to win its first Las Vegas Summer League title since 2019 when Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke were rookies. This is the first appearance in the Summer League title game for Miami.
Which talented yet fringe NBA pg would you rather have on your team for the rest of his career, Scotty Pippen Jr, Carlik Jones, Kira Lewis Jr, Tremont Waters, Malachi Flynn, Killian Hayes, Rokas Jokubaitis, Tristen Newton or Josh Primo?
Rank a top3 if possible… link to m.youtube.com
Scotty Pippen Jr.
The real 2024 Summer League MVP
Its crazy to see the level of coaching in person between MIA summer league teams and mostly all other orgs
Literally running pro sets out there ( and getting reamed for missed assignments!) while most teams are just knocking cob-webs off
Kelel Ware has been a complete beast, seemingly getting better each game. I thought McCain was a layup for them but I think they made the perfect call supplementing the future of the franchise Bam with Mr Ware. Those 2 can roam some space for a longgggg time side by side….Jelly
The fact that Bam looks SO good playing alongside ADavis for Team USA would make me really excited for the future if I’m a Heat fan. Ware prob won’t ever be as dominant as Davis but he can def be similar. The comedy that we woulda got from a Jared McCain/Jimmy Butler duo woulda been historically great but Mia prob made the right move. They got a very similar guy to McCain already in Rozier & actually gave up quite a bit to get him (in assets & roster flexibility). And obv Rozier is currently much better than the teenage McCain. Im hype to see if Ware (&/or Bam for that matter) can ever become a Myles Turner/Okur level shooter from trey. If so that would def take their offense to another level. But overall the Ware pick looks great at this early stage & could look even better as he gets toughened up by vets like Bam/Jimmy/Love/UD
Im liking Knecht today but id trade him for Ware in a heartbeat!
The pairing with AD would have been delicious, Mia gonna Mia tho and throw ninja stars draft night
This is why I just laughed at the sheep that kept screaming about how weak this draft class was lol. It’s absolutely ridiculous how deep this class was. Knecht4 & Ware didn’t even go lottery. I literally had Ware going lottery last yr if he woulda come out & last yrs class wasn’t disrespected nearly as much. If I had to put money on it I’d bet on Terrence Shannon winning ROY & he was 1 of the last picks in the 1st rd. The 9th & 10th pgs taken were Isaiah Collier & Tyler Kolek lol 11th was Juan Nunez. This pg class may be looked back on as a historic type group fr. But tbh I think Mia is a much, much better spot for Ware than LA. Miami got the perfect vets for him to be around. LAL don’t have a KLove or Haslem that can basically focus all their energy on him. Plus the Lakers needed shooting & a guy that can be depended on from day1… link to m.youtube.com
Agreed Mia much much better landing spot for him to grow
Don’t tell the Heat fan that …….
He can’t see it ….. PadaBooommm.
Like Ware and Bam, Heat finally going big.
Was hoping Ware would slide to Knicks.
I was hoping for DaRon Holmes for yall, he would have been a major Thibs guy, sadly just got injured post draft …woulda made it hadnt Den jumped yall (which I think was Denvers plan)
Holmes looks good. Reminds me of Duren. Didn’t really know much about him. Get healthy, still young.
Ware has a ways to go. He’s 90% alley-oops and that won’t transition as well into real games.
I’m loving his rim protection. He needs to shoot more.
He can help just with rim protection and rebounding. Looks agile, will develop offense in time imo.
This HEAT summer league team can beat the PISTONS.
Ware — 32 mins, 21 pts, 10 reb
44% from 3PT.
just saying !!!!! Looks good so far. Like to see him add some weight. Girth and muscle. Has the frame to do it. Not a Heat fan. This was an excellent pick. Didn’t expect them to do it. I believe in size. All teams should have some size. 15 players on a roster. Imo Bam can dominate at the 4.