Miami Heat youth step forward at start of NBA summer league

The early focus for the Miami Heat at summer league also proved to be the early force, creating early anticipation.

Game 1 of the team’s summer schedule, a 107-90 victory Monday over a similar roster of draft picks, rookies, free agents and young players from the Los Angeles Lakers, arguably could not have gone much better for the Heat’s leading men of July.

In the first of two games this week at the California Classic at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the Heat got a taste of the possibilities of Jamie Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic and Orlando Robinson.

Jaquez, the guard drafted at No. 18 two weeks ago out of UCLA, closed his Heat debut with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting in 21:51, including several highlight dunks.

Jovic, the lanky big man drafted at No. 27 in 2022 out of Serbia, filled the boxscore with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 26:58.

And Robinson, the center who went undrafted last year out of Fresno State, closed with 13 points and eight rebounds in 27:54, showing the outside range that could help with the Heat’s spacing when the games actually count.

For Jaquez and Jovic the chemistry was instant.

“You can teach a lot of things, but the feel of the game, it’s just a gift,” assistant coach Caron Butler, who is coaching the Heat summer roster, said of Jaquez and Jovic. “And they have it. They have the feel of the game.”

Jaquez said the bond with Jovic came naturally.

“I’m excited to see where our chemistry grows,” Jaquez said.

The Heat also got solid supporting efforts from two-way guards Dru Smith, who ended last season with the Brooklyn Nets and undrafted Chase Audige, the guard out of Northwestern.

Smith finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Audige closed with 18 points, 4 of 7 on 3-pointers.

“Our disposition is to win now, win every day,” Butler said of setting the tone by winning the summer opener.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s summer-league game:

1. For starters: The Heat opened with a lineup of Jaquez, Jovic, Robinson, Smith, and undrafted rookie free agent Drew Peterson, the 3-point-shooting forward out of Southern Cal.

The Heat were without forward Jamal Cain, who spent last season on a two-way contract. He was not available due to an ankle sprain sustained during training in Miami.

Among those taking the game in from courtside was former Heat guard Gabe Vincent, who last week departed for a three-year, $33 million free-agent contract from the Lakers after bypassing a four-year, $34 million offer to return to the Heat.

2. Slow, then go: Jaquez had an early welcome-to-the-NBA reckoning, called for three fouls in the opening 3:35, closing the first period 1 of 5 from the field. Players in the 40-minute summer-league games are allowed 10 fouls before fouling out. NBA games have a six-foul limit over the 48 minutes.

“A little slow start for myself,” Jaquez said, “but it happens.”

To be expected, Butler said.

“I knew that he had a little jitters,” Butler said.

Jaquez then heated up in the second period, at the start of the quarter throwing down a thunderous transition dunk that led to flexing by the Heat rookie and a timeout by the Lakers.

From there, he stepped out off an inbound play to swish a 3-pointer, active and aggressive throughout.

“It felt good,” Jaquez said of his debut. “It felt really good to be able to do this in the first game.”