Silencioso debut de verano para Kasparas Jakucionis y otras observaciones del partido inaugural de la liga estival de los Heat

Amid an underwhelming Miami Heat offseason that hasn't yet included much roster change for a team that was swept out of the first round of the playoffs last season, the potential of first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis is one source of hope that better days could be ahead.

But Jakucionis was quiet in his summer league debut, finishing the Heat's summer league opener with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, one rebound, one assist and three turnovers in an 89-62 win over the San Antonio Spurs' summer squad on Saturday at Chase Center in the California Classic. It marked the first of three summer league games that the Heat will play in San Francisco before taking part in Las Vegas Summer League.

Jakucionis, who was selected by the Heat with the 20th overall pick in this year's draft, started slowly. The 19-year-old guard missed two corner threes and was called for a charge on a drive to the basket during the first five minutes of Saturday's contest, ultimately finishing the first half scoreless and without an assist in 10 minutes.

Jakucionis finally recorded his first assist early in the second half, setting up Kira Lewis for a floater with 8:40 left in the third quarter. But Jakucionis' impressive passing ability was on display throughout the game, delivering a few nice passes that didn't go down as assists because his teammates couldn't make those shots.

Jakucionis then scored his first points of the day, drawing a foul on a drive into the paint and then hitting one of the two free throws with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter.

But Jakucionis' first made goal of the game didn't come until there was 6:50 left in the fourth quarter, scoring on a layup in transition off a steal from Heat summer teammate Bryson Warren.

Jakucionis was projected by many before this year's draft to be a lottery pick after averaging 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31.8% from three-point range as a freshman at Illinois last season. But he ended up falling to the Heat at No. 20 in the first round of the draft.

Jakucionis is one of five players on the Heat's summer league team who are on track to be on the Heat's NBA roster this upcoming season.

Like Jakucionis, forward Keshad Johnson, guard Pelle Larsson, and center Kel'el Ware have signed standard contracts with the Heat for next season. Johnson, Larsson, and Ware are preparing for their second NBA season after spending their rookie seasons with the Heat and also playing important roles on the Heat's summer league team last year that won the Las Vegas Summer League championship.

Johnson kicked off his second summer league with the Heat on Saturday, scoring nine points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line, along with nine rebounds and four blocks in 28 minutes.

Larsson recorded a team-high 18 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting from the foul line, and 10-of-11 free throw attempts, along with three rebounds in 28 minutes.

Ware contributed 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting from three-point range, and 4-of-5 shooting from the foul line, along with seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, and three blocks in 27 minutes.

Then there's rookie center Vlad Goldin, who was recently signed by the Heat to a two-way contract after going undrafted last month.

Goldin, 24, spent three seasons at Florida Atlantic before spending his final college season at Michigan. He finished the win with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, 0-of-1 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, three rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes in his first summer league game with the Heat.

The Heat opened Saturday's summer opener with a starting lineup of Jakucionis, Lewis, Larsson, Johnson and Ware. The Heat then used guard Erik Stevenson, guard Javonte Cooke, Warren and Goldin off the bench.

The Heat's summer league team is right back at it on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers' summer team at Chase Center (4:30 p.m., NBA TV).

Here are other observations and things to know from Saturday's Heat summer league opener:

▪ Lewis, a high-profile summer league name who was the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, closed the victory with four points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 20 minutes in a starting role for the Heat's summer squad.

The 24-year-old Lewis did not play in the NBA last season, instead spending it with the Washington Wizards' G League affiliate.

▪ Stevenson, who went undrafted in 2023 and has spent the last two seasons in the G League, was impressive for the Heat with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting on threes, five rebounds and three assists on Saturday.

▪ Cookie, who went undrafted in 2022 out of Winston Salem State and spent the last three seasons in the G League, contributed eight points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 23 minutes on Saturday.

▪ Both teams struggled to make shots on Saturday, combining to shoot 12 of 61 (19.7 percent) from three-point range.

▪ Summer league games are played with 10-minute quarters instead of the usual 12-minute NBA quarters.

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"People might think I'm going to be as good as him" - Eddie Bird wanted the world to know he wasn't his brother Larry

If there is one thing we've learned from observing the history of the NBA, it's that greatness doesn't always trickle down the family tree. Just because mum or dad were great players, doesn't necessarily mean their sons will be. Just because someone has a cousin in the NBA doesn't automatically grant the wider family an easier path to the pros.

Of course, there are a vast number of exceptions to this notion, with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, the Holiday family, and the Gasol brothers as just a few of many examples where elite basketball had family ties, but the inverse always has to exist too.

You'd be surprised at how many Hall of Famers had family members who attempted to carve out a professional career of their own, only to be unable to live up to the family name. Larry Bird's brother, Eddie, is a great example. He showed promise in high school but was never able to make his mark at the NBA level.

Eddie Bird's career

Eddie first made national headlines in 1987, at a time when Larry had already established himself as an NBA superstar. When you're as talented as Larry Bird, naturally the comparisons followed, but it wasn't purely because of his last name.

Eddie was already making an impact in high school, and his performance on the court led people to wonder if his potential resembled that of his older brother. Notably, Eddie broke Larry's high-school scoring record, surpassing Larry's 1,125 points with his own total of 1,172 points. This achievement generated excitement about his future potential and earned him the opportunity to play college basketball at Indiana State University—the same college attended by his brother.

Eddie breaking the scoring record didn't guarantee that he would become a pro. Still, there were signs he could potentially follow in his brother's footsteps. However, college was going to present a far sterner test for him as a prospect. To his credit, while he didn't set the world on fire, he did manage to have a reasonably fruitful college career.

He led Indiana State in scoring in all four of his college seasons, averaging 14 points per game, and built a reputation as a solid shooter after connecting on over 44% of his three-point attempts during his junior year.

It ultimately wasn't enough for him to get drafted in the NBA. Still, the Suncoast Sunblasters selected him in the second round of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 1991. At that time, the USBL became known for its development in helping players move up to the NBA or forge professional careers in Europe.

He averaged 6.6 points per game for the Sunblasters in eight appearances before attending an 11-day free agent camp with the Sacramento Kings in July of that same year. Eddie used that opportunity to make the Kings' Summer League roster, where he underwhelmed in five appearances, averaging just 4.4 points per contest.

The end of his summer league campaign with the Kings would be the last time Eddie was notably involved in a professional setup, and he eventually walked away from the game without pursuing other opportunities.

He knew his limits

Throughout his sporting life, Eddie was understandably under enormous pressure by carrying the same last name as arguably the greatest basketball player ever at that time.

He could have easily let that weight crush him, or even worse, allowed his ego to swell to the point where he felt entitled to make it to the NBA based on his brother's success. He did neither and remained humble throughout everything.

He was so humble that even after breaking Larry's scoring record in high school, he wanted to let the world know that he was nowhere near as good as his brother.

People might think I'm going to be as good as him or something, and I hope they won't do that. If they look at it that way, I just hope they don't look at it as they see myself and not Larry. Right now, I don't think I will be a pro basketball player. he said .

Being that down-to-earth at such a young age with the national media knocking at your door is no easy feat, and it speaks to the humble foundations that the Bird brothers were raised with.

Lessons in replication

Larry and Eddie's basketball paths were connected, all the way from high school to college and nearly to the NBA level. Ultimately, however, their journeys ended up in completely different places, and it's a great example of how close, but far, careers can be, even for brothers.

Perhaps there was a Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan, perhaps there was a player as talented as LeBron James who never got the right opportunity or found themselves in the right circumstances.

Even Larry and Eddie, who grew up in the same household, under the same conditions, and empowered with the same support, couldn't reach the same destination.

There are humble lessons in knowing and understanding that sporting careers are so fragile, so delicate, so reliant on a perfect combination of talent, timing, opportunity, and the determination to keep searching for answers that may never come.

Larry ended up in the Hall of Fame, while Eddie sat in the crowd and watched his speech. The intricate details of one's journey to stardom remains one of the more underappreciated realities of sport, and who knows, maybe in an alternate universe their roles would have been reversed and history would have told a different story.

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