Miami Heat's surprise lineup change fuels much-needed win over Spurs

With 7:19 left in the second quarter, Bam Adebayo approached the scorer's table to  check into the game. Rather than pointing at rookie Kel’el Ware to come out, as per usual, Nikola Jovic got the nod to head back to the bench. 

Down seven and struggling to match up with the San Antonio Spurs’ size, headlined by the towering Victor Wembanyama, coach Erik Spoelstra decided it was time to unveil the double-big lineup for the first significant minutes of the season.

The Miami Heat snapped off a 14-2 run to take their first lead of the game. Ware took the Wembanyama assignment, allowing Adebayo to play as a help defender. Over the next few minutes, Adebayo got a weakside block, he attacked the smaller Harrison Barnes to set up a Ware triple and Ware saved a possession with a putback. 

The Miami Heat finally played Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware together for significant minutes this season. It worked.

The Heat went into halftime with a five-point lead. When the team opened the second half, they did so with a different lineup than started the game: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Adebayo and Ware.

"If I have to lean into this thing defensively right now for our team to get to another level, I will," Spoelstra said after the game. "That could be a path where we could find higher success on one side of the floor, then we'll figure it out on the [offensive] side."

The Spurs were seemingly caught by surprise by the mid-flight lineup change and never recovered. Miami led by as many as 27 points in Sunday’s 128-107 win at Kaseya Center.

Ware was a plus-27 in 35 minutes. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. 

“I thought two bigs, both Bam and Kel’el protecting the paint, gave us a huge lift,” Robinson told the broadcast after the game.

This decision was a long time coming. Team coaches and executives talked about a future of Adebayo and Ware playing together since draft night, but always in longview terms. Fans clamored to see more of Adebayo and Ware together than a few situational possessions. Before the game, Spoelstra hinted at more Adebayo-and-Ware minutes.

“I think we’re at a point that I’ll start to do that if I feel like it will help in those end-of-quarter situations,” Spoelstra said.

Spoelstra went to it midway through the second quarter and stuck with it for most of the third quarter. Whether this will become Miami’s new starting lineup remains to be seen, but Sunday’s win provided a strong argument that it should. 

Questions remain about whether the Heat can consistently generate enough offense with Adebayo and Ware on the court together, but Ware as a lob threat has emerged as one of Miami’s go-to offensive menu items. Allowing Adebayo to attack smaller players could get him going as well. Herro and Robinson still provide ample outside shooting.

The Heat had lost three straight heading into Sunday afternoon and needed a jolt. They got that and the win as they move back to one game over .500.