Marcus Garrett making a summer statement with Heat: ‘He’s a really, really talented defender’
Marcus Garrett already had a strong defensive reputation when he committed to join the Miami Heat’s summer league team, and that reputation continues to grow.
The undrafted guard out of Kansas was named the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and finished as a finalist for the award that ended up going to No. 9 overall pick Davion Mitchell last season.
So far in summer league with the Heat, it has been hard to not notice Garrett’s smothering on-ball defense and impressive instincts on that end of the court. Garrett, who spent four seasons at Kansas before going undrafted this summer, totaled 13 steals and three blocks in his first four summer league games.
“He’s a hell of a defender,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Malik Allen said. “He’s tough and he has a great feel defensively. His toughness is the first thing. He takes the challenge on the ball and off the ball. Like he likes to play defense. You can just tell he likes to get down and defend and take the challenge.
“He just has a great sense and nose for the ball and anticipation, and he’s always around the ball. We saw it [in practice] when we played a little bit. Right away, it was like: ‘Oh, man. That kid can really, really defend.’ You notice him very, very quickly.”
With the help of his defense, the 22-year-old Garrett has solidified himself as a clear candidate for a two-way contract from the Heat. Both of Miami’s two-way slots are open after last season’s two-way contract players Max Strus and Gabe Vincent were recently promoted to standard NBA contracts for next season.
But until Garrett is potentially signed by the Heat to a two-way deal or standard contract, another NBA team can sign him away.
“I just know how great an organization it is,” Garrett said when asked why he picked the Heat over other summer offers. “From the coaching staff throughout, knowing they kind of play my style of ball looking to get out and guard and be aggressive defensively.
“I’m trying to be aggressive, I’m trying to take the ball on every possession and I’m trying to be disruptive.”
Garrett’s offensive game isn’t as far along as his defense, but one of his goals this offseason has been to improve his outside shot. He averaged 11 points while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from three-point range as a senior at Kansas last season, and he made 30.2 percent of his threes during his four-year college career.
But Garrett has been an efficient offensive player to begin summer league, totaling 44 points on 26 shots in his first four games with the Heat. He has averaged 11 points on 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) shooting from the field and 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) shooting on threes, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 3.3 steals and 0.8 blocks during that stretch.
“I feel like I can get downhill, find my teammates. That’s kind of the biggest thing I’m good at on the offensive end,” Garrett said. “The jump shot is what I’m really working on the most. I feel like my ability to just break down a defender and get either myself a layup or my teammate a shot. That’s my best offense.”
Garrett’s offensive development will likely determine how big of a role he could potentially have in the NBA, but his defensive skill set is what drew the Heat to him.
“He guarded me in practice the first day, and he was everywhere,” Strus said of his summer league teammate. “I couldn’t even get open, so he definitely has got that. He gets through screens so easily, and he’s stronger than you think. He looks real skinny and frail, but he’s strong and gets through screens easily. He doesn’t even really get hit, and he has super long arms that help him.”
At 6-5 and 205 pounds, Garrett’s wingspan has been measured at 6-10. One player he has studied on the defensive end is former Heat forward Andre Iguodala because “I feel like his hands are very disruptive and that’s something I try to model my game after.”
While Garrett has stood out as an on-ball defender, he also believes he’s effective off the ball.
“I feel like I’m a great help-side defender too,” Garrett said. “A guy that kind of knows scouting reports and knows basketball defensively. Whether it be rotations, rebounding, knowing when to help, knowing who I can help off of.”
Garrett hopes he’s the next Heat undrafted success story, a lineage that has included Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Vincent, Strus, Rodney McGruder, Tyler Johnson and Udonis Haslem.
“That’s kind of something big that helped me pick the Heat,” Garrett said. “Just knowing the way they develop guys and just being around the coaching staff has just been incredible.”
Heat coaches have enjoyed their time around Garrett, too.
“He’s a really unique on-ball defender, man,” Allen said. “He has a great nose for the ball and he has got great anticipation. I guess that’s what separates him. He just has great anticipation. He’s a presence. As soon as the ball is inbounded, he’s just a presence and guys feel him. So he set the tone. He’s unique on-ball, he has grown offensively already. But he’s a really, really talented defender, he really is.”
▪ The Heat dropped its first summer league game of the year, 84-65 to the Utah Jazz on Friday at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. Miami had won its first four summer games, dating back to the California Classic in Sacramento.
Garrett exited Friday’s game early because of an illness and did not return. He logged just seven minutes of action before leaving the contest.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
