Kel'el Ware finds himself back in the headlines again as he saw limited action in the Miami Heat's latest loss to the Orlando Magic on Jan. 28.
Trying to manage minutes in the rotation, head coach Erik Spoelstra explained why he didn't give more playing time to the young center.
Erik Spoelstra reveals reason why Kel'el Ware only played seven minutes
Ware was coming off a minor injury as he missed the last four games. Miami went 3-1 in this stretch as the team adjusted while remaining resilient without the center's presence in the rotation.
He returned in the contest against Orlando but was only on the court for seven minutes. He finished with four points, four rebounds and a block on 2-of-5 shooting from the field.
Spoelstra reflected on the results after the game, per reporter Zach Weinberger. When he asked the head coach about Ware's workload, Spoelstra assured that it was to ease him back into the rotation after missing over a week with the injury.
“No, it's just easing him back…we'll see where that goes. You know, we’re just gonna go with the normal rotation we did on the road trip. We'll just see where it goes,” Spoelstra said.
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Ware has seen himself be in and out of the Heat's starting lineup this season as a second-year big man. After making 27 starts in the first 37 games of the campaign, he has come off the bench in his last seven appearances. He is averaging 11.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He is shooting 53.8% overall, including 41.1% from beyond the arc, and 81.5% from the free-throw line.
Not only that, but Ware has seen his minutes go down in recent games. The last time he played 20 or more minutes for Miami was on Jan. 6 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which was also his last start.
Miami has a 25-23 record on the season, holding the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are above the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls by 1.5 games. Meanwhile, they are even with the Magic for seventh place and trail the Philadelphia 76ers by one game.
The Heat will look to bounce back in their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Bulls as tip-off will commence on Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. ET.
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