The Miami Heat are off to a perfect 2-0 start in the Las Vegas summer league, a sign that their time in the California Classic earlier this month is paying off. 

The Heat have decided to play first-round pick Kel’el Ware (2024 NBA Draft) and 2023 first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr. in Las Vegas, giving the team a massive advantage over some squads with less proven NBA talent.

Jaquez has been one of the best players this summer, scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in his last game, and he’ll look to keep that going against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday afternoon. 

Dallas is 0-2 this summer, and it didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to bolster its chances in Las Vegas. 

Still, the Mavericks are just 4.5-point underdogs in the odds entering this matinee matchup. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Moneyline

Total

Miami Heat

Kel’el Ware: Miami drafted Ware in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, a sign that it could think about playing Bam Adebayo at the power forward spot in bigger lineups. Ware has been great this summer dating back to the California Classic, and he’s coming off a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) in a win over OKC. 

Dallas Mavericks

Olivier Maxence-Prosper: A first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Maxence-Prosper is looking to crack Dallas’ rotation in the 2024-25 season. The second-year forward had a solid game in Dallas’ loss to Memphis, scoring 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting (2-for-4 from 3) while adding four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. 

Note: Lineups are very fluid in summer league, and teams will sit out players to get a look at other prospects. These key players to watch – and the upcoming prediction – are based on the teams playing their expected lineups. 

A lot of this pick is dependent on Miami playing Ware and Jaquez for the third straight game, but the Heat also have some fringe NBA players in Cole Swider, Alondes Williams and Josh Christopher (a former first-round pick) on their summer league roster.

That’s helped Miami pick up a five-point win over Boston and a 29-point win over OKC in its first two games in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Dallas hung tough with the Utah Jazz before getting blown out by 20 by the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. 

I’m worried about the lack of offense Dallas has – no player scored more than 16 points against Memphis – and Maxence-Prosper and AJ Lawson are the only two players with real NBA minutes under their belt on this roster. 

As long as Jaquez plays, Miami is going to continue to be a tough out in the summer. 

Pick: Heat -4.5 (-110)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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