Three Takeaways from the OKC Thunder’s Summer League Loss to the Miami Heat

On Monday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated by the Miami Heat 102-73 in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The loss puts OKC at 0-2 in Las Vegas after a solid showing in Salt Lake City’s Summer League event earlier this month.

Despite being trounced by the Heat, the Thunder had multiple young players perform well in Monday’s contest.

Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma City’s most recent Summer League matchup.

For the second consecutive game, rookie guards Ajay Mitchell and Dillon Jones were both bright spots for OKC.

In 24 minutes, Mitchell was the Thunder’s leading scorer, tallying 21 points, five assists, two rebounds, one block and one steal while shooting 8-of-14 from the field. The second round draft pick also went 1-for-1 from 3-point range.

Throughout his time in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas this month, Mitchell has performed well for the Thunder, giving himself an opportunity to be one of the OKC Blue’s top players in the upcoming season. Mitchell will play on a two-way contract and could even earn a few minutes of NBA action this year if he continues to shoot the ball well from the perimeter, control the game as a lead guard and hustle on defense.

While Mitchell’s size prevents him from being an elite defender, the UC Santa Barbara product has been able to make plays and force turnovers so far in the Summer League by playing with constant effort.

Jones has also been one of the Thunder’s top players this summer.

While the Weber State product wasn’t as efficient on Monday night, he still finished with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal while shooting 4-of-14 from the field and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Even though Jones didn’t have his best performance, he still showcased the versatility that made the first round pick so appealing to Sam Presti.

Aside from Mitchell and Jones, Adam Flagler was one of Oklahoma City’s only other standouts against the Heat.

The second-year guard notched 20 points, three rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes of action, shooting 7-of-16 from the field and 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. Despite just one professional season, Flagler is clearly the veteran of the Thunder’s Summer League team and has played with good command of the game.

After spending the majority of last year with the OKC Blue, Flagler could have a shot at filling OKC’s final roster spot if he continues to play well.

Outside of Mitchell, Jones and Flagler, the rest of Oklahoma City’s roster has struggled in Las Vegas.

Players like Keyontae Johnson, Kylor Kelley, Hunter Maldonado, Cormac Ryan, KJ Williams and Jaden Shackelford all played more than 15 minutes against the Heat on Monday, but still were unable to make big contributions.

Johnson, Maldonado, Williams and Shackelford all spent last year with the Blue, and could return to the Thunder’s G League affiliate for the 2024-25 season.

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