It has been a rough season for the Miami Heat, but rookie center Kel’el Ware has become one of the bright spots for the Heat this season.
Ware, 20, is still far from a finished product and has plenty of room to improve, though. The past few games have served as a reminder of that.
As the Heat (29-36) dropped its fifth game in a row and fell seven games under .500 for the first time since the 2020-21 season in Wednesday night’s 119-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Kaseya Center, Ware was in his usual starting role but was benched to begin the second half after a bad first half. Instead of going with the double-big look of Bam Adebayo and Ware to start Wednesday’s second half, the Heat began the third quarter with forward Haywood Highsmith on the court in Ware’s place.
“[Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] just talked to me,” Ware said of his reaction to beginning Wednesday’s third quarter on the bench. “He told me at halftime what he’s doing and I was like, ‘OK, I got it.’”
The midgame change came after Ware totaled just two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field, four rebounds and one assist while struggling defensively against veteran Clippers center Ivica Zubac in 12 first-half minutes. The Clippers outscored the Heat by nine points with Ware and Adebayo on the court in the first two quarters before not playing them together in the second half.
“It just didn’t look right against this team, to start two bigs,” Spoelstra said, as the Heat’s disappointing 0-4 five-game homestand is set to end with a matchup against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Friday (7 p.m. FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV). “It’s not necessarily an indictment on Kel’el. But we weren’t able to take advantage of it. We’ve been working on these things. So we didn’t go that way in the second half. There were stretches that looked OK. But Zubac kind of had his way there in the paint.”
Ware ran into similar issues during Monday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets against center Mark Williams, recording just two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field, five rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes in that defeat. The Heat was outscored by 12 points with Ware on the court in that game.
“He can definitely see the physicality, the girth and he’s gained a lot of strength in the weight room,” Spoelstra said of the lessons that Ware can learn from going up against centers such as Zubac and Williams this week. “But now there’s also functional strength, technique and really competing against guys that are trying to take advantage of that post opportunity or catches in the paint. That’s happened now a few times.
“The size, the strength, all that, we need that right now from him. And he’s learning everything from a fire hose, but this is actually the best way to learn is when there’s consequences to everything because everything becomes so much more magnified.”
Zubac totaled 26 points and 14 rebounds on Wednesday against the Heat.
Williams totaled 24 points and 10 rebounds on Monday against the Heat.
“Those are guys who have been in the league for a minute and I’m still learning through it,” Ware said. “So I don’t really think it’s tough. I just think it’s more of a lesson to learn, look back on it and get better next year.”
Prior to this two-game stretch, most of the conversation surrounding Ware was focused on his lack of late-game playing time. He played just four seconds in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s March 2 loss to the New York Knicks before missing time because of a sprained left knee and then not playing at all in the fourth quarter of his first game back from injury in Saturday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.
“I don’t know if it’s the trust factor because I play the first three quarters,” Ware said of his recent sporadic late-game usage. “So I don’t know if it’s a trust factor [with Spoelstra]. I just feel like it’s just the lineup that he wants to go with in the fourth quarter. I feel like that’s really it. I don’t think it’s much of a trust factor. They haven’t really said anything to me. That’s why I feel like it’s not much of a trust thing.”
Ware isn’t complaining about his playing time. As a rookie, he understands there are going to be ups and downs along the way.
“I’m just rolling with the punches,” said Ware, who was selected by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Draft.
At least, Ware is playing now. After logging double-digit minutes in just two of the Heat’s first 25 games this season, Ware has started in his last 21 appearances and played double-digit minutes in 37 straight appearances.
Ware’s upside as an athletic 7-footer with a 7-foot-5 wingspan has been on display, averaging 9.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in 21 games since becoming a full-time starter. He has seven double-doubles this season.
But Ware’s youth and inexperience have also been on display, especially recently.
“I feel like I’m progressing every game, every practice,” said Ware, who continues to work behind the scenes to add weight to his slender frame. “Just trying to get better. Of course, this season isn’t going how we all hoped it would go. But I’m still treating every day like I want to get better and I want to progress because I know my second year is going to come around quickly. So I just want to be prepared for that.”