Thursday night's 119-114 loss to the Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat looking like the bad version we've seen throughout much of this season. The score was close, but don't let that fool you, because once the fourth quarter hit, the Heat disappeared and the Celtics surged onward.
From an offensive production perspective, Miami's starting five performed well, getting 86 points combined from Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, and Andrew Wiggins, while Pelle Larsson dropped seven points in a rare starting role.
Still, many of those points came in the first three quarters, when the Heat played well enough to win, but closing the game out is where the win would have come. But while the majority of points came from those meant to score on a nightly basis, one player performed exactly the opposite, awarding him a benching from Erik Spoelstra, who later explained his reasoning for sitting second-year player, Kel'el Ware.
Erik Spoelstra calls out Heat's Kel'el Ware for going in the wrong direction, Udonis Haslem preaches impact over minutes.
Put aside for one second Ware's MIA game against the Celtics, and look at his season as a whole: he's played relatively well, considering. Most of his numbers are up from his rookie season, including points per game (11.7), three-point percentage (41.9%), free throws (81.5%), and rebounds (9.9). Ware is also playing more minutes than last year, averaging 24 per game.
For a second-year player, these jumps in numbers are a good sign of growth and improvement. That said, even in year two, Ware appears to be fighting with the qualities and attributes that make a consistent NBA player. Now, going back to the Celtics game, Ware played less than 10 minutes, scored three points, and went 1-for-5 from the floor. Subsequently, Ware earned himself a spot on the bench.
Spoelstra sat Ware for the entirety of the second half, and his reasoning had much to do with matchup problems similar to when the Heat faced the Celtics earlier in the season, when Ware also struggled with matchups. Following Thursday night's loss, Spoelstra explained his decision to bench Ware. If you disagree with him, listen to what Udonis Haslem had to say on the matter as well.
“It was a tough matchup for him in Boston with all the coverages, and the same thing tonight,” Spoelstra said, “He just has to stay ready. Look, with Kel’el, I know that’s a lightning-rod topic. He needs to get back to where he was eight weeks ago, seven weeks ago, where I felt and everybody in the building felt, he was stacking days, good days. He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now. He’s just got to get back to that. Stack days, build those habits, make sure you’re ready and play the minutes that you’re playing to a point where it makes me want to play you more.”
In response to Spoelstra's comments, Haslem, while on the post game set of Prime Video’s NBA coverage, had this to say about the young star.
“What I will say about Kel’el and any young basketball player is that there’s going to be so many things that are out of your control. I understand that’s frustrating. But if you step out on the basketball court and you’re playing in a situation where you’re frustrated, where you’re not enjoying the game, where you’re not playing with joy, you’re not playing your minutes hard, you’re not giving that effort and energy, then you allow everything that those coaches or whoever said to be right."
Haslem appears to have a good read on what's going through Ware's head, because yes, for young players who think they should be getting more playing time and opportunities, it's challenging to face the role you're in presently, and the only way to remove yourself from that role and elevate is by giving your coach a reason to elevate you.
In Spoelstra's eyes, Ware isn't doing that right now, and it may be costing him. Ware's minutes may be up from last year, but the Heat has been outscored by 3.2 points per 100 possessions while he has been on the floor. It's too soon to say Ware is in the dog house; however, when it comes to tracking days, according to Spoelstra, Ware is going in the opposite direction.
On the flip side, it should be on Spoelstra to put Ware in the right position to succeed, and that may mean more court time, despite the inconsistencies. If Ware wants to earn his coach's trust, it starts by having an impact no matter the minutes you play, and perhaps Spoelstra needs to open the window all the same.