3 Important takeaways from the Heat's Summer League championship run

The Miami Heat are Las Vegas Summer League champions after beating the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-118, in an overtime thriller on Monday night. It’s the first summer league championship in franchise history and the first championship of any kind since 2016’s G League title and 2013’s, y’know, real title. 

The Heat might not hang a banner for 2024, but there are some meaningful takeaways from Miami’s summer run. Here's three of them.

1. Kel’el Ware is coachable

Watching Ware roll to the basket during the Heat’s summer league championship game versus his summer league debut in San Francisco is like night and day.

I have a saying: Nothing good happens when Ware turns his back to the basket. The coaches agree, and have been on him to roll hard to the rim and not flitter into post-up position early in the clock.

Here’s what Ware spent most of his summer league debut doing:

Here’s how it looked at the end of his summer league stint:

It’s a small sample size against inferior competition – and it’s not as if Ware is going to average his championship-game stat line of 21 and 10 on 80% shooting during the regular season – but it shows that Ware is coachable.

One of the knocks on Ware going into the draft was his motor and coachability. Did the 7-footer want to play like a big man and work hard near the rim, or did he prefer to stick to his comfort zone as a face-up finesse player? 

The Heat were aware of these issues and coaches got on him right away to set solid screens, roll hard to the basket and work the glass. After a few inconsistent summer league games, they got through to him.

Ware ended up as one of the standouts of summer league and looks like a hit with the 15th pick. If his Vegas growth is any indication, the Heat don’t need to worry about his coachability.

2. Pelle Larsson got better

Ware wasn’t the only Heat draft pick who got better as summer league went on. Second-round pick Pelle Larsson admittedly got off to a rough start, but he played his two best games in the semi-final and championship game.

Larsson scored Miami’s first seven points of Monday’s championship tilt and four of the team’s final seven in the Elam-ending overtime, including the game-winner.

Larsson handled that last possession with composure. The Heat drew up an angled pick-and-roll between their two draft picks, with Ware setting a screen. The play broke down but Larsson calmly attacked the paint, got to his spot and released a push shot for the win.

This was in stark contrast to the start of Larsson’s Las Vegas stint, when he regularly shot 33% from the field and recorded as many turnovers as made shots.

“I think I kind of sped up myself a little too much, just not having played in a while,” Larsson told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s been a while since the college season ended, so I just need to get back to my own basics a little bit more and double down on that, what got me here, and then being what I’m going to be able to bring in the regular season.”

There are still some things for Larsson to iron out, especially the fouling (he was in foul trouble after the first four minutes of Monday night's game and averaged 3.8 fouls per 40 minutes over his collegiate career), but his athleticism, hustle and scoring flashes are intriguing.

It’s telling that the Heat ran the final play for their two draft picks. Alondes Williams was playing well as the team’s de facto point guard and Josh Christopher, who went on to be named the championship game MVP, was feeling it. Instead, summer league coach Dan Bisaccio used the clutch moment to put the two rookies through a stress test.

They passed with flying colors, and now enter training camp with deserved confidence.

 3. Is Josh Christopher’s game scalable?

Christopher dazzled in summer league. The highlight tape is an endless reel of off-balance jumpers, deep 3-pointers and clutch moments.

I wonder if it matters.

As my colleague Will Salinas wrote, he believes Christopher should be a lock for one of Miami’s two-way contracts. Many Heat fans agree. But I don’t know that the front office does.

Why?

Because it’s unclear if Christopher’s game is scalable to the NBA level.

Let me explain.

Before Christopher scored six points in the fourth quarter to fuel Miami’s comeback over Memphis, he started the game by missing four of his first five shots. It’s awesome that he has the confidence to keep shooting and can erupt in the game’s biggest moment, but he won’t have that chance in the NBA.

Two-way guys who start 1 for 5 usually don’t get the chance to shoot their way out of slumps in NBA games, not when they are sharing the court with Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and Bam Adebayo.

Here’s the central question: If Christopher’s shot isn’t falling, what else can he contribute? 

At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, Christopher has the size and athleticism to be a good defender. The 2021 first-round pick hasn’t been (which is why he’s playing in summer league) but he seems to have committed to getting better at the non-scoring things. He had three steals and two blocks that triggered important swing plays in the championship game. There’s a lot to like here, but the Heat’s front office needs to be sold.

For the Summer League Heat, Christopher was a devil-may-care gunner. For the Real Heat, he’ll be tasked with playing an efficient 3-and-D role. This is a situation that calls for Christopher to scale down. Training camp will be as important to him as anyone on the roster.