2024 Olympic Games proof Heat can roll out game-changing lineup

The Miami Heat are in need of something new, and it doesn’t seem like it will be a new player.

Instead, Team USA may have provided the blueprint for a new look that could help the Heat show opponents something different and unlock Bam Adebayo in an important season.

Primarily a center on the Heat, Adebayo split his time between power forward and center for Team USA. He wasn’t one or the other, he was both. And that could be the key to unlocking Miami’s most interesting lineups next season.

After playing a bit at both front-court positions earlier in his career, Adebayo has logged 100% of his minutes over the last two years at center because, well, he’s had to. With Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard no longer on the roster, the Heat haven’t have a big man who could stretch the floor and play next to Adebayo. 

Instead, the Heat went small, cycling through guys like Trevor Ariza, PJ Tucker, Caleb Martin, Haywood Highsmith and Nikola Jovic at center over the last three seasons. Any backup center with the potential to play next to Bam – Omer Yurtseven, Kevin Love, Orlando Robinson, Thomas Bryant – hasn’t been viable for one reason or another.

Can Kel'el Ware help the Miami Heat replicate the success Team USA had with playing Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis together?

That could change after the Heat drafted Kel’el Ware in June. Ware impressed in summer league, showing the kind of shot-blocking and rim-rolling skills that could pair well with Adebayo in the front court.

Squint, and it could look a little like how Anthony Davis and Adebayo played off each other on Team USA’s second unit. With the 7-foot Davis on the court, Adebayo could play more free. Rather than have to drop back and defend the rim, Bam could get out and defend on the perimeter. Because he wasn’t asked to set every screen in the middle of the floor, Adebayo could take 3s from the corner.

Expecting Ware to provide what Davis did is obviously unrealistic, but he also doesn’t have to. No one is asking Ware to play Defensive Player of the Year-caliber defense, but he does have to be better than what the Heat have been working with behind Bam over the years. Check that list of names again… it shouldn’t be hard.

Shooting would be a plus. Over his two collegiate seasons and summer league, Ware has made about 33% of his 3-pointers. The Heat drafted him in part because of his willingness to shoot the 3, but he needs to get more efficient.

But even Davis didn’t exactly stretch the floor for Team USA. Playing Bam and Ware together wouldn’t be about offense, it would be about defense. 

The Heat also don’t need to insert a rookie into the starting lineup. Like with Team USA, Adebayo-plus-Davis was the back line on the second unit. To make it work, coach Steve Kerr often paired them with perimeter scorers like Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and Derrick White.

Erik Spoelstra can stick with Adebayo as his starting center but, once he gets into his substitutions, bring Ware into the game and slide Adebayo over to power forward. Playing them with Miami’s best shooters like Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson could help alleviate any spacing concerns.

Playing Ware and Adebayo together won’t solve all of Miami’s problems from last season but it’s a new look on a relatively unchanged roster, and one Spoelstra saw first hand while helping Team USA win Gold.