Observations from Heat’s summer league loss to Hawks, as Strus, Yurtseven and Jarreau shine
The Miami Heat fell to the Atlanta Hawks 94-90 on Saturday as part of Las Vegas Summer League. It marked the Heat’s second consecutive loss after winning its first four summer games, dating back to the California Classic in Sacramento.
The Heat is 2-2 in Las Vegas. Here are some observations and notes from the Heat’s loss to the Hawks in Las Vegas:
▪ The Heat used a starting lineup of Omer Yurtseven, Max Strus, KZ Okpala, DeJon Jarreau and D.J. Stewart Jr.
▪ Yurtseven, 23, turned in another big summer league performance with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting on threes, seven rebounds, four assists and one block.
During his impressive summer league run with the Heat, the 7-footer has averaged 22.4 points on 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) shooting from three-point range, 11.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the five games he has played in.
How good has Yurtseven been? He opened summer league as a free agent and will end it with an NBA contract after recently signing with the Heat.
Yurtseven believes he has grown most during summer league on the defensive end, especially as he adjusts to containing the ball in pick-and-rolls rather than just dropping into the paint.
“It has been a lot of learning, like watching film and taking it all in,” Yurtseven said. “I’m still making those adjustments inside the game. All the coaches have been in my ear and also, OG, Udonis Haslem has been with us like for the last two, three games just giving advice, letting me know I have to make the guards make a play, jab at them and like make them either pass or shoot or hesitate so that our guards can get out front.
“Those little adjustments and being able to stay in front of the guards and also not let my man get behind me. But, yeah, it’s been like a learning experience and also being able to do that consistently paid off last game. More reps and more reps, it’s just going to translate into the regular season.”
▪ Strus put together an efficient summer league performance on Saturday, finishing with 24 points while shooting 9 of 18 from the field and 6 of 13 on threes, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Strus, who spent last season as one of the Heat’s two-way contract players and was signed to a standard NBA contract this offseason, has scored 24 or more points in three of the five summer league games he has played in this year.
Late in close summer league games this year, Strus has been the Heat’s go-to option. He again was put in isolation situations during important stretches on Saturday.
“That’s why summer league, it’s so important,” Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Malik Allen said. “I think for Max, the work is there, he has the drive, he has the mindset and the attitude. So now, he’s just going out and applying it. ... Nobody knows what can happen in the regular season. So you just got to be ready for it. He has taken advantage of it and he’s growing into that role.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he gets those opportunities, you just never know. You’re playing with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker on the floor, and the ball winds up in his hands. I think everybody that has been around him knows and is confident that he’s going to be able to make a shot if it comes to him.”
▪ Jarreau continued his strong showing in Las Vegas, with a near triple-double performance that included 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting, eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals on Saturday.
The undrafted Houston guard has averaged 11.5 points while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 3 of 8 on threes, 5.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals in four games at Las Vegas Summer League. He did not play in the Heat’s two summer league games in Sacramento because of a thigh contusion.
“Really from the first day, he just has a voice that is natural and it’s not forced,” Allen said of Jarreau’s talkative style on the court. “He loves to play, he loves to compete and when he speaks, it’s very authentic. He says the right things, he wants to win, he wants the team to have success. All those things, it’s pure. He’s obviously got a long way to go, but that’s a big, big part of development and getting better. If those things are there and are pure, then you are going to get better. It’s just how it goes. We’ve been really, really happy with him.”
Jarreau is one of the guards on the summer league roster competing for a two-way contract spot with the Heat. Both of Miami’s two-way slots are open after last season’s two-way contract players, Strus and Gabe Vincent, were recently promoted to standard NBA contracts for next season.
▪ Okpala’s summer league struggles on the offensive end continued Saturday. The 22-year-old forward finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting on threes, six rebounds and two assists.
Okpala, who is entering his third NBA season, has totaled 25 points on 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) shooting from three-point range, 27 rebounds and seven assists in four summer league games.
Okpala has averaged 2.4 points on 38.6 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent shooting on threes, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 42 regular-season games during the first two seasons of his NBA career. He’s entering the final season of a three-year, $4.2 million contract he signed prior to his rookie year in 2019.
▪ Heat guards Marcus Garrett and Vincent were held out Saturday.
Garrett missed Saturday’s contest because of an illness, which also forced him to exit Friday’s loss to the Utah Jazz after just seven minutes of court time. Garrett is one of the Heat’s top candidates for a two-way contract, as he 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 in his first four summer games with the Heat before the illness forced him out.
Vincent, who is one of four players on the Heat’s summer league team with a guaranteed NBA contract for next season, has not played in a summer league game this year after recently returning from Tokyo, where he represented Nigeria in the Olympics. He’s with the team in Las Vegas, but is not expected to get in any summer league game action.
▪ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was again in attendance to watch Saturday’s summer league matchup against the Hawks in Las Vegas. Spoelstra was also at Friday’s game against the Jazz.
▪ Saturday marked the Heat’s fourth game at Las Vegas Summer League.
With each team scheduled to play five games, the Heat will play its fifth game to close summer league on Tuesday. The game time will be announced soon, as it will be “determined by various factors, including team rivalries, broadcast interest and other scheduling considerations (e.g., timing of back-to-backs),” according to the NBA.
The top two teams in the Las Vegas Summer League standings qualify for Tuesday night’s championship game, with the other 28 teams playing consolation games on either Monday or Tuesday to cap off summer league action. The Heat did not make the championship game.
This story was originally published August 14, 2021 at 6:14 PM.
