Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat (4pm ET)
Both the Bucks and Heat played in opposite brackets of the California Classic, with Milwaukee in Sacramento and Miami in San Francisco. Neither team was very impressive, but that could change and the scene shifts to Las Vegas.
The Heat have a decent roster, but it doesn’t feature any high draft picks or true NBA experience. Ryan Conwell is a solid guard out of Louisville that Miami selected in the second round of last month’s NBA Draft, and the other key names are fringe NBA players in Kendall Brown, Vlad Goldin, Trevor Keels and Jahmir Young. Not the worst roster, but not impressive either.
The Bucks did not impress in the California Classic, but I’m expecting a complete overhaul of the roster here. Veterans like Kira Lewis Jr. (former Pelicans lottery pick) and Brandon Boston Jr. played key roles for Milwaukee in California, along with a few second round picks in recent NBA Drafts. The No. 10 overall pick in last month’s draft, Brayden Burries, didn’t play until the finale, and saw just 16 minutes (scoring 12 points).
But now in Vegas, Burries is good to go with a game of experience, along with fellow lottery pick Nate Ament. Ament was the No. 13 pick in the draft, but could not play because the big trade with Miami had not been completed. Another young piece of the return from the Heat was
Kasparas Jakučionis, who was a first round pick in the 2025 draft. He’s a nice guard prospect out of Illinois, that played at time for the Heat last season and averaged over six points per game. Both will now be active for the Bucks in Vegas with the trade finalized.
So while the Bucks have not been good in recent outings, the roster is essentially adding three top-20 picks over the last two draft classes — the type of young talent that Miami’s roster is lacking. The price on this game might not be fully factoring in those additions, so I feel Milwaukee is worth a play as the short favorite here.
NBA Summer League Pick: Bucks Moneyline (-120)
