Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has shown trust in rookie big man Kel’el Ware of late. After the former University of Indiana Bloomington standout spent much of the first two-plus months of the 2024-25 regular season glued to the bench, he has received double-digit minutes of playing time in each of Miami’s last six games.
Bam Adebayo praised the rookie for his play off the pine and implied that he’s been an important component of the Heat’s bench unit lately.
“I’m glad we’re using him,” Adebayo said. “Big fella can definitely make plays, and that’s who we need. We need that instant energy shift. It’s a different way of how we play, a different style. So it’s great to have that in the second unit.”
Adebayo also said Ware is fortunate to be seeing the floor in his first year in the NBA because he didn’t play all that much under Spoelstra when he was a rookie in the 2017-18 campaign. The 27-year-old averaged a career-low 19.8 minutes of playing time per game as a neophyte and started only 19 games.
“Run the floor, catch lobs, do the little things that contribute to winning and we’ll figure out everything else,” Adebayo said. “He’ll still developing.
“And like I tell him, I was like, ‘You lucky, you get to play. I didn’t get to play my rookie year.’ So it’s good he’s getting his feet wet. He gets to go out there and make mistakes, but also learn as well.”
Ware made his imprint on Miami’s most recent game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 1. To kick off the new year, he totaled 10 points, five rebounds and one blocked shot in a game the Heat won by 11 points.
His 10 points against New Orleans mark the most he’s ever scored in a regular-season NBA game, though he totaled nine in a win over the Brooklyn Nets not long ago on Dec. 23.
Ware has also made his last seven shot attempts from the field dating back to Dec. 29. He connected on all four of his shots against the Pelicans and went 3-of-3 from the field versus the Houston Rockets a few days prior.
The 20-year-old will hope to continue his streak of games played without a missed field goal when the Heat battle the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in the second night of a back-to-back for Miami. Indiana has underperformed on the season, as the team currently has a record below the .500 mark despite the fact that the squad played in the Eastern Conference Finals less than a year ago.
The Heat could also pick up their third straight victory with a win and improve their record to 18-14 on the season. Miami is only one game back of the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference at this point in time.