Despite the struggles that Kel'el Ware has faced during his sophomore season, Erik Spoelstra finally says what all Miami Heat fans have been longing to hear: that the young center is getting better and that he's put together some of his best individual practices of late.
“I would venture to say that these are the three best practices he had this this year, and those were coming off of some tough games against tough competition…he’s working on it, he’s watching film on it, he wants to get better at it”
That means that Ware's best is yet to come, and that he's still working hard to find the improvement he needs. This late in the season, these are the types of glowing remarks that a fan base wants to hear about their young prospect.
Even more so considering how much Spo has been critical of Ware.
Kel'el Ware is still showing signs of promise
Sure, Ware's huge game (24 points and 19 rebounds) may have come against one of the worst teams in the league, but it was great to see Ware let out that type of rep.
Again, Ware has had what will be described as an inconsistent second season in the league. However, there have been real moments of encouragement for the young big. This most recent game was certainly one of those moments.
As Spo has consistently said, it's not necessarily a question of talent for Ware. It's more about consistency at this point in his development.
Consistency is what holds Kel'el Ware back
In a vacuum, the argument can be made that Ware is one of the most talented young big men in the league. But Ware will never get to the level of player he wants to be without the consistency. No matter how talented he may be, he needs to be able to have these types of "splash" games at a consistent level.
And that's been Spo's biggest gripe against Ware.
Even when he has "off" games, Ware's talent jumps off the screen. It's the intangibles that have held him back during his sophomore season.
If he can find a path toward putting together the consistency, along with the hard work, there's nothing that can seemingly hold Ware back heading into the future.
In many ways, Ware's sophomore season will be remembered more on the polarizing end of the spectrum. But it could also be the year where things started to come together for the big man.
Both Spo and the Heat fan base are surely hoping that's the case.