Kel'el Ware and Nikola Jovic haven't shown the developmental leap that the Miami Heat were hoping to see from them so far this season, and it could end up costing the team a real shot to emerge as a potential player in the Eastern Conference.
Heading into this season, the Heat's chances to make some noise in a beaten-up East revolved heavily on the ability of their young core to take a strong step forward in their individual development. So far this season, that simply hasn't been the case - at least not from the Heat's two likeliest of young players.
While Jaime Jaquez Jr. has seemingly broken out of his sophomore slump, there was much hope that Jovic and Ware would emerge as foundational pieces for the Heat this season. Both Ware and Jovic have had some nice showings this season, but they've been far too inconsistent for the Heat to trust.
And if something doesn't change quickly, that is only going to emerge as a more frustrating problem as the Heat gets deeper into the season.
The Heat still don't have a consistent running mate for Bam Adebayo
Before the season began, it appears that the Heat had a great dilemma on their hands - where they had two worthy starters to play next to Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt. But with the way they've played through the first six games of the season, there's an argument to be made that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is getting to the point where it's going to be difficult to trust either of them.
Despite a strong showing in the summer, Jovic has not looked all that impressive through six regular-season games. Jovic is averaging nine points and four rebounds on 41 percent shooting from the field in 22 minutes per contest.
He's been way too inconsistent for the Heat's liking, and hasn't been that offensive flamethrower that the team was hoping he'd be with Tyler Herro sidelined with an injury.
Similarly, Ware has been more miss than hit so far this season.
Ware has all the talent and potential in the world, but, for some reason, has a real issue in bottling it up for consistent amounts of time.
Statistically speaking, Ware has had maybe one really good game so far this season. And if Ware is going to bat 1-6 this year, that's simply not going to cut it. Ware is averaging nine points and seven rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the field.
The Heat have been able to survive the first few games of the season thanks to their new-look offense. However, it does appear as if the absences of Herro and Norman Powell over the past two games have truly revealed the fact that the team's young duo of Jovic and Ware has left much to be desired.
And if this continues to be a trend, this will end up being a nightmarish type of developmental season for the Heat.