Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) and center Kel'el Ware (7) look on after a play against the Houston Rockets in the first half of their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Feb. 28, 2026, in Miami. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Miami Heat starting center Bam Adebayo and backup center Kel’el Ware want to play more minutes together. But to play more together, Adebayo and Ware know they need to show they can be an effective double-big combination.
The problem is that Adebayo and Ware were one of the Heat’s worst two-man groups for much of the first four months of this season. The Heat was outscored by 7.5 points per 100 possessions in the 266 minutes that the 6-foot-9 Adebayo and 7-foot Ware played together through the first 53 games this season.
But Adebayo and Ware have been better lately, entering the mid-February All-Star break with some momentum. Albeit against some of the NBA’s worst teams in the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans, the Heat outscored those opponents by an eye-opening 68 points in the 42 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together over the final three games prior to the break.
However, the Heat went away from the double-big frontcourt after returning from the All-Star break. Adebayo and Ware logged just three minutes together over the first four games after break.
The Heat’s fifth game after the break included plenty of minutes for the Adebayo-Ware duo, though. With the Houston Rockets entering Saturday’s game in Miami with the NBA’s top offensive rebounding percentage (the percentage of available offensive rebounds a team grabs) and overall rebounding percentage (the percentage of available rebounds a team grabs), the Heat deployed the Adebayo-Ware frontcourt for extended minutes.
“I mean, it felt good,” Ware said when asked how it felt to play alongside Adebayo for double-digit minutes for the first time in more than two weeks. “It felt like the days when I’ve played alongside him recently. So, I mean, it felt good.”
The results were again good, too, as the Heat outscored the Rockets by 21 points in the 16 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together during Saturday’s quality 115-105 win at Kaseya Center. The victory not only snapped the Heat’s two-game skid as it works to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament for the first time in four years, but it also marked the Heat’s first win over a team currently with a winning record since defeating the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 25.
The Heat (32-29) even closed Saturday’s game with Adebayo and Ware on the court together. With Adebayo and Ware playing the final 7:54 of the fourth quarter, the Heat turned a three-point lead into a 10-point win.
“Houston is a unique team because of that rugged physicality that they bring and rebounding is probably the No. 1 key against that team,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of turning to the Adebayo-Ware lineup on Saturday. “But we leaned into it, for sure.”
Spoelstra made it sound like a matchup-based decision on Saturday, using zone defense for a large chunk of the Adebayo-Ware minutes. It worked, as the Rockets shot 0 of 14 from three-point range and scored at an ugly rate of 71 points per 100 possessions with Adebayo and Ware on the court for an offensive rating that would rank the worst in the NBA among teams this season.
On the other end, the Heat scored at an efficient rate of 130.3 points per 100 possessions with Adebayo and Ware on the court on Saturday for an offensive rating that would rank the best in the NBA among teams this season.
As far as rebounding, the Heat produced a rebounding percentage of 55 percent in the Adebayo-Ware minutes on Saturday for a rebounding percentage that would rank the best in the league among teams this season.
“Both those guys were really good in our zone,” Spoelstra continued. “Kel’el, that was one of his better jobs in the zone just communicating and protecting in that inner circle. Even some of those tough floaters that they made, Kel’el was getting off the ground and making those not a super high percentage shot. And his rebounding, obviously, was key.
“Bam was super dynamic, whether you play him at the center position in the zone or if you play him at the wing. At the wing, he’s elite. He’s our best wing defender, as well.”
Adebayo, 28, and Ware, 21, knew Saturday would likely be a game they would be used in together because of the Rockets’ size and rebounding.
“Houston usually goes big lineups,” Adebayo said, with the Heat now in the middle of a two-day break before hosting the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at Kaseya Center. “So one, we got to match that size. They’re the No. 1 rebounding team in the league. So you understand you got to have size out there because they’re crashing the glass. But also, big fella (Ware) brought it today. You felt his energy from the jump. And Spo challenged him in walk through, and he responded. So we just need him to keep that consistent mindset of going out there and making his presence felt.”
Both Adebayo and Ware turned in dominant double-double performances on Saturday,
Adebayo finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 35 minutes.
Ware closed with 13 points, 15 rebounds, one assist and one block in 29 minutes.
“I want big fella to be out there,” Adebayo said of Ware. “I feel like he listens to me. Sometimes he kind of ignores Spo. But I’ve banked so much equity with him. Throughout the summer, him getting up with me at 6 a.m. And with all the pick-up we’ve played, he listens, he wants to learn. He wants to be out there. Obviously, he’s got to earn his minutes. But when he’s out there with me, I feel like he definitely gets better.”
When Ware doesn’t play with Adebayo, Ware’s playing time is limited to the 12 to 16 minutes that Adebayo is on the bench resting.
But playing Ware and Adebayo together works to maximize Ware’s minutes so he’s not only on the court when Adebayo is on the bench.
“It’s like a brotherhood,” Ware said of his relationship with Adebayo. “He’s been through this before, been through coach Spo before. So, you know, just listening to him because he’s a player also. He’s in the game with me, he’s going through the exact same thing I’m going through.”
Adebayo and Ware are currently in different situations, though.
Adebayo is in his ninth NBA season. He’s also the highest paid player on the roster, the team’s captain, a three-time NBA All-Star and a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup.
Ware is only in his second NBA season after being drafted by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in 2024. He’s still working to earn Spoelstra’s trust, as his minutes have fluctuated throughout an up-and-down season.
But they both believe that playing together can help the Heat. They just need to continue to show Spoelstra that they can continue to produce positive minutes together to make that happen.
“It’s the best, I feel like, for the team with some matchups like today,” Ware said of playing alongside Adebayo after Saturday’s home win over the Rockets. “So, whenever the matchup is needed for it, I feel like we can go to it.”