The Miami Heat got their NBA Summer League Circuit kicked off last week in the California Classic. On Saturday evening though, they would begin the second portion of their summer league calendar.
Tipping off the Las Vegas portion, now dubbed the 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League, it would not only be the Heat’s summer debut in the desert but one of their more recent developmental guys’ too. Marcus Garrett, a two-way player for the Miami Heat last season until his season ended in injury, put on a show in his first game of the summer.
Putting up 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 5/6 from the field and 1/1 on his lone shot attempt, you love the efficiency. Though it wasn’t an explosive offensive showing, by any means, it does show that he can contribute and continue to develop based on his knack for finding scoring opportunities.
While the offense was good, the reason he can become a real weapon for the Miami Heat is what really shined through in Garrett’s first summer game. The Miami Heat loved his defense enough to give him the two-way deal last season and his ability hasn’t changed.
The Miami Heat are in an important time for them, finding developmental gems. An existing one in Marcus Garrett had himself a day in his summer debut.
Here he is showing you all of that. He smothered Celtics forward, Brodric Thomas, into submission here.
MARCUS GARRETT. CLAMPS. pic.twitter.com/773iaFe18c
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) July 9, 2022
This is the type of stuff that will keep Garrett around the league for a long time. Hopefully, with the Miami Heat in this coming season.
As far as the game itself, the Miami Heat would beat the Celtics’ summer squad, 88-78. The Miami Heat were led in scoring by Mychal Mulder, who finished with 23 points and four rebounds on 7/13 from the field and 5/8 from three.
Haywood Highsmith and Orlando Robinson would also score in double figures while Jamaree Bouyea also dropped in nine. Nikola Jovic only played about 14 minutes, didn’t score, and only had two free-throw attempts in the books.
He would add in four rebounds and an assist in his brief stint but you’d like to see more. Hopefully, everything is ok, as you would expect to see him get more time than he did.
Whether Jovic had a good day or not, the Miami Heat were able to get the win and Marcus Garrett’s elite defense in this one was the star.