Heat rookie Kel’el Ware had a strong impact on his impressive preseason debut, scoring 13 points, taking 5 rebounds, and giving away 4 stoppers and 2 steals in just 17 minutes of performance, earning the praise of his own and strangers despite falling to the Hornets in Charlotte.
Ware was unwrapped, with agile moves and an inappropriate maturity from a debutant to what added his competitive spirit and good defense in the paint, which was to the liking of coach Erik Spoelstra.
Did you immediately notice the defensive? “When you are still learning our system,” Spoelstra said. It’ll improve, but make your presence feel, protect the hoop, block shots, go after the ball, bounce the ball, and make sure the opponent sits you when you’re reaching the hoop. He had his moments to do it and encouraged me with his way of playing.
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He still has a lot to go in his first course, but it’s nothing crazy to think about a very near future could be the Miami team’s starting center, moving Bam Adebayo as the power striker.
His 7.0 and his jumping power make Ware the true pivot prototype for the Heat, while Adebayo, who has considerably improved his three-point shot, is now the powerful striker who has long been looking for.
So the Capital of the Sun quintet would start with defensemen Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro combining them as a shipowner and escort, Jimmy Butler as a small striker, Adebayo as a power striker, and Ware as a center.
Although Spoelstra may well place Alec Burks in the starting quintet and move Herro as the sixth man to lead the second unit alongside Duncan Robinson, Jaime Jaquez, and Kevin Love.
Leaving Josh Richardson, Pelle Larsson, Nassir Little, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic, and Thomas Bryant as reserves.
In the role, Miami seems a very competitive team to face a tough season in which, despite not being one of the favorites, will fight to win the title. Avoiding injuries will be key and a very motivated Butler must be the engine the team needs.
But the Adebayo-Ware duo can certainly turn the painting into an impregnable boundary by significantly limiting their rivals as well as being able to put Adebayo on great players such as Giannis Atentokoumpo, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Pascal Siakam and Kevin Durant having a center to cover his back.
In addition to Ware getting a man who can take care of giants Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Kristaps Porzingis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, etc.
The point is that Spoelstra, unlike Pat Riley, has never been convinced to put two towers and friend of the failed small line-ups to Adebayo wants him as a center, to put Highsmith (6.6th) or any other or Jovic himself as a power striker. If so, Ware will have to find his life competing with Love or Bryant as a substitute center.
It already happened to center Omer Yurtseven, who was never the headline and when he was close to the headline, an injury caused him to end up leaving Miami.
Although Ware does see it’s made of another wood and fit perfectly into the Heat’s culture. He just needs to play and they trust him. And yes, we have to learn, it has to be learned, it has to improve, but it is not only a center of the future, but a center with a lot of present.
If Spo accepts this challenge the Heat would certainly be stronger and most likely the Heat will star in the year’s steal in the draft.
