Wizards vs. Heat preview: Washington looks for first win in Las Vegas against Miami

Game Info

When: Monday, July 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Where: Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
TV and streaming: CSN Mid-Atlantic, NBA TV, ESPN 3

What to watch for

Can Washington anything out of their starters?

Don’t the final score from the Wizards’ narrow loss against Memphis fool you. Washington only kept things close because Jared Cunningham and the Wizards’ second unit dominated the game nearly as thoroughly as Memphis’ starters on Saturday.

The Wizards’ starters - Kevin Pangos, Sheldon Mac, Michael Young, Chris McCullough, and Daniel Ochefu - combined to shoot 15-48 (31.3 percent) from the field. Ochefu was the only one of the starters who made more shots than he missed and the only one who didn’t have a negative plus/minus.

In a normal basketball context, we’d say something here about how the starters need to play better because they play the larger share of the minutes and they have to be successful in order for the team to be successful. But when it comes to Summer League, the starters need to be good simply because they’re the ones who will be on the Wizards’ roster when games matter this winter. If the Wizards’ young core can’t show some improvement, it’s going to put even more pressure on the team’s veterans to deliver next season.

Most Likely Wizards Killer (YES WE’RE STILL DOING THIS FOR SUMMER LEAGUE): Bam Adebayo

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The 14th overall pick in this year’s draft got off to a good start in Vegas on Saturday. He had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Heat’s win over the Spurs. More impressively, he avoided some of the common pitfalls big men face in Summer League. He only committed one turnover and three fouls in 29 minutes of action. Daniel Ochefu will have quite the challenge in this one.