The Miami Heat close Summer League on Friday night against the Detroit Pistons. Tip-off will be at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back (yes, those exist in Summer League), Miami has dropped three-straight games to the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, respectively. Truthfully, the talent contending for the final two-way spot does transcend its record — and it’s Summer League, where the record doesn’t matter at the end of the day.
Check out our gamethread below!
Miami Heat Starters:
- Cam Carter, G
- Tre Donaldson, G
- Tre White, F
- J’Vonne Hadley, F
- Vlad Goldin, C
Detroit Pistons Starters:
- Ebuka Okorie, G
- Chaz Lanier, G
- Isaac Jones, F
- Brice Williams, F
- Ugonna Onyenso, C
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In other news…
Nikola Jović had an outstanding performance for the Serbian national team during the 2026 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, including a dominant 32-point, 3-block effort against Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 22-point display in a friendly win against Germany. Highlights from his most notable 2026 summer tournament performances include:
Per Fear The Heat, Jovic averaged:
Jović looks healthier, more confident, and more aggressive than ever.
If this version of Nikola Jović shows up next season, the league better be ready—especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo by his side.
nba to euro ball would be like division 1 college football div 2 major league minor league baseball.seen 4 years of niko so far not impressed.very inconsistent cant get to the hole.only chance he has is to bury js which last year he was terrible.how many chances this guy gonna get/keshad got no pt and every time he played he looked like he belonged.my opinion
At least 4 more chances/years.
worse contract in heat history as of today.maybe with greek he will be better
Last season he was on a rookie contract. It will only be a bad contract if he fails to produce this year. Hold your horses before you write him off. Give him the benefit of a doubt. We can reassess at the trade deadline.
Amen
Vlad was your opinion too
Not true.
Every European team can play ball. Top 20 teams in the world consists from US, Canada, Argentina, Australia and at least around 15 Europeans teams.
Those are not easy games. Playing well in those games is indication of quality player.
He was good, yes. But still there were some bad plays, terrible runs to the rim, bad defensive plays. That he still put on such numbers (remember, there is only 40 minutes games in FIBA) is an indication, how talented actually is.
Slovenia just won an European championship under20 years beating France in semifinals and Serbia in finals. We have very talented young generations, With Luka still playing, in 2-3 years that could be one of the top national teams in the world. Its time to finally get those medals from Words and Olympics.
Unbelievable for such a small country.
dr baseball
Just a sport nation. We are good in many sports, but basketball was a bit behind lately, which was a shame. A bit of a waste of a Luka talent.
Congratulations!
Thank you.
In other non-NBA related news…
Caitlyn Clark recorded the WNBA’s first-ever 40/10 game Doing it all, Clark, at only 24-years-old, became the very first player in WNBA history to ever score 40 or more points and record at least 10 assists in the same game. Out of all the legendary names that have played in the WNBA, no one posted a 40/10 game until Clark on Friday.
OK Angel Reese…your move!
them sis jealous of all attention she gets deservedly so they rough her up
She scores, but inefficiently, she’s second in assists, but leads the league in turnovers.
She is fun to watch, but she’s not the best player in the league, but because she’s fun to watch, she’s the face of the league. I get why other WNBAer’s may get upset at the focus she receives.
bams soon to be best player in league.
We may never know Bam’s ceiling as long as he is playing out of position. He’s a natural PF. Put him with Embiid, Jokic or Wemby and you would see what he is capable of doing.
i think weve seen bams ceiling hes somewhat of a limited offensive player.great defender ok offensive player.players play to their strengths.whatever they do best they doon the court i would think what else does bam have in his bag.bams a great complimentary player hes not kg shawn kemp.chris weber.doesnt have that offensive ability.that shts gd given sm.
What else does he have in his bag? An 83 point game isn’t enough? He’s better than Jaylen Brown for one, who was 6th in MVP voting last year
versus the generals i think i can get 10 pts verus those non trying bums.hes a manufacutured made offensive player not a natural scorer.top 20-25 player.bam not better than brown last year brown should have won mvp.he took a bunch of mediocre players to second seed .bams a complimentary player browns an alpha
How is Bam averaging 20/10 a manufactured scorer? Vs Brown who actually is that, takes 22 shots a game, the most on his team by far, to average 29 pts, but his team is 5 points better whenever he’s off the court. Loses in the first round to a Philly team that gets swept the next round, and calls it his favorite year because he gets to take all the shots.
Many pro sports records are set vs crappy players/teams. They are crappy because they give it up easier.
good pt sm.i think bams offensive game has improved alot.bams not a go to player when your needing a bucket.derozan is jalen brown is.
Compare Shawn Kemp’s stats to Bam’s. Is Bam a ss like KG? No. Is he capable of more if he wasn’t bridled with covering the paint and covering bigs who are 3 or more inches taller than him? Yes.
If KG was required to play C his whole career, would his stats be as good? I don’t think so. As a C would KG be as durable as Bam? I don’t think so. Comparing Bam to PFs is like comparing PGs to SGs. Two different positions.
if thats the case than the heat fo has failed bam and us.bam versus joker in the finals didnt pat see how outsized he was.bam is not a center.hes got the perfect pf body.bad on pat
Bingo! Small ball center. Heat doesn’t like big centers.
She isn’t the best but she is one of the most dynamic. There are several factors involved including: race, envy, sexual preference, ego and low IQ.
The truth hurts.
Jealousy is right. She was voted 11th at her position in all star voting by WNBA players. WTF does that show. Jealousy, envy, reverse racism, gender preference bigotry, call it what you want. One thing I know for sure is.that her treatment/ physical abuse is sure being exploited by right wing hate groups. WNBA players are cutting their own throats in more ways than one.
Yup. Don’t they realize she has been the cash cow for the WNBA? They are making more money and the league is getting more popular because of her. They better hope she doesn’t get frustrated because of all the abuse and quit/retire.
great pt sm .the other day some player tried to choke her out while she was on the floor,sabrina ionescu heckuva player to.the steph curry of wnba.brianna stewart great player
I m watching Euro under 20 years match Slovenia:France. There is also Wembys brother. Totally different player. Around 2 m high, great shooter, very mobile, good defender. Not Wemby, but definitely NBA material.
I wouldn’t mind taking wemby lil bro on to this team.
in a year or two he will be on draft.
Odds of LeBron going to Miami just jumped to 45% with Cleveland 2nd at 23%. Time to land that 2nd plane!
Interesting..what is the cause?
Do we have to?
I wouldn’t mind that that plane would crush somewhere else.
Where are you getting your stats from? Sounds a little fishy.
Kalshi. Currently at 56%. No idea the cause but people are betting on it.
Maybe its Giannis, family and friends betting heavily based on…”inside information.” lol
trust the process
The only number that counts is 100%. Everything else is just speculation. Who knows, he could end up taking Champagnie’s PF spot in San Antonio.
nobody knows but goat rich paul mrs goat ,i cant see him giving pat another ring.cleve in past playoffs layed down and surrended.loves steph but theyre not beating spurs okc.im betting trust the process.playing in the iconic boston garden would be wild.playing with joker would be cool.i dont see him coming here or cleveland.my opinion
Miami checks far more boxes than any other team. Wife loves Miami. 12 year old daughter loves volleyball. Other than CA, Texas and Fla are next best places to play vb. Miami offers familiarity with city, organization, and coaching, better weather, lower taxes, the place where he won half of his 4 titles, etc. Picking another team would be illogical. If I was a betting man, I would put my money on Miami.
closing unit as of july 18th 510am greek bam port of miami wig dav?comeon big body brunson try your luck son.
Bam at the 3 in that lineup would be interesting. Portis played 20mpg on a good playoff team, his role imo is more as a regular season innings eater as the third big, plus a guy who can give you big playoff moments. You sacrifice defense for offense when Portis on the floor. Better to have a Giannis Bam frontcourt on defense (should be the #1 defensive rebounding team in the league) plus perimeter defense around that with Davion, Pelle, Wiggins
pelle over port of miami to close .if pelle is closing we’re in trouble hes not at that level.guys finish on pelle all the time or hes getting smacked in the face.hes a nice story guy from sweden making it in nba.that 2g position needs a norm upgrade.current bc with dav and pelle wont get us jewelry.dav and dd dav and beal.if not goat one or the other two.if that doesnt happen got to wait til next year.tim hardaway jr has always been a mediocre player throughout his whole career except when he played with joker.theres at least 2 more vets coming maybe klay although $$ might not work.
You’re way too low on Pelle and THJ, who’s been a flamethrower throughout his career. Pelle should be one of the best two way players on the team next year, the only thing he’s lacking is the 3pt shot. Who are the leaders on the team after Giannis and Bam, according to Spo? D Mitch, Wiggs, Pelle
Portis contract was a condition of making the Giannis trade for MIL, because they wanted to get off salary. He is a good NBA player, will be a leader, was spoken of highly by Riley, Spo etc but will 99% not be in a closing lineup next year.
port of miami best 3 pt shooter on team.strongest guy on team.toughest guy on team,pelle thj average players.port of miami above average.booby 12 48 39 as a pt player pelle 8 48 33 .port of miami last guy on team youd want to fight.th jr 14 42 36.5 not good stats below average.roster needs a better 2g otherwise set for jewelry
Those are all entirely subjective rankings on your part. THJ averages double the 3PA per game of Portis for his career
36.5 not a good clip.portis is a roughen.team has been so soft since quitter quit.pelle is a bench player.if hes closing weve got problems.with dav and pelle in bc theres not enough pts
Career 36.5% on 6 attempts (THJ) is better shooting than 39% on 3 attempts (Portis). The latter is the same as what Ware and Davion averaged last year.
Pelle vs Portis is not even a question, Pelle guards opponent top scorers, Portis has always been an offense first big who is hidden on defense, competes but can’t guard perimeter or protect the rim. Taking on Portis contract was a condition of making the Giannis trade, Pelle was the most highly valued prospect on the Heat who was kept out of the trade. Portis can/will be good for the Heat but you’re overrating his impact if you think he’ll be closing games.
Pelle and Davion have been needed more for defense than offense, up until now. Who knows, with Bam, Giannis and maybe LeBron all feeding them easy/open shots, that could change.
Uncan was best shooter on team too I think both Bam and Giannis are both more physical than Portis. He is not a physical defender. He’s no beef stew. He was on second unit at Milwaukee for a reason.
Bobby Portis is not generally considered a good defender. While he is a highly skilled scorer, floor-spacer, and elite rebounder, his defensive limitations—particularly in pick-and-roll coverage and rim protection—have historically made him a below-average defender in the NBA.
need to see more 6 9 250 shot 46 % on 3s last year glad hes on our team.most big guys cant guard good except around the rim.pull shaq out to the 3 pt line can he guard.
If you need scoring to close you play Portis. If you need defense you play someone else.
riley might want a do over with that vlad deal.men that dont move to fast cant play in todays nbaa(national basketball assoc of athletes.vlad belongs in duncs group nat basketball assoc of the 1960s
I will play the rc devils advocate role and recall how you were clamoring for him to get pt last year because you saw him at FAU. I know, more information comes in and we adjust our viewpoint. Nothing wrong with seeing reality for what it is. Too bad, though, for Vlad.
lol yeah when i saw him at fau he was way more athletic.hes got those high compression socks on think hes not at 100% not much bend in the knees when he runs sort of like jimmy was when he wanted out.riley bought in on vlad stock need to see him more mobile or gtfoh
Spobot clueless! If we release him, teams will line up to get him. He will be really good if he gets a chance, trust me.
in hfl we trust not on this one lol
Donaldson with a near triple double, I see big things in his future… he’s gonna be our next big undrafted gem ✨️lastly vlad is letting this opportunity pass him by, he ain’t it.
Agree on both. Second go around for Vlad after a full G league season and a few minutes with the Heat. He should be dominating. He’s not.
Yea ig he didn’t really improve. Probably gotta steal another big from another gleague or summer league squad.
Exactly. There a few out there. Heat need a big, physical, agile, rebounding defender. Scoring not as important. I think Nick Richards is still available. Toronto has a couple of good undrafted non-roster centers in Nate Bittle (7’0″) and Jamarian Sharp (7’5″). Hmm?
I almost forgot about nick, I would go for him, but he will probably be more then the vet min. Also I honestly would take either bittle or sharp.
I agree. Tre’s the one who has that certain spark. Maybe Keels also.
I honestly I like both the tre’s and ofcourse keels has good potential too.