Apparently, the key to unlocking Kel'el Ware to his full-time potential is for Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to just call him out every single game. It's a small sample size, but Ware has been called out twice by Spoelstra since July, and both times he has responded looking like a perennial All-Star.
Obviously, the Heat would prefer that Ware just play like an All-Star without the added drama, but on Wednesday night, the Heat had to be thrilled with what they saw from their second-year center.
Kel'el Ware has a monster night after getting called out
If we rewind back to July, Ware did not have a great start to his summer slate of games. Given that he was the player Miami seemed to refuse to part with in a potential Kevin Durant deal, it was understandable if Spoelstra was frustrated.
Spoelstra stated publicly back in July that:
"The professionalism inconsistency has to improve, and it is. Our standards are not going to change. Our expectations of how fast we want that to improve for him are not going to change. But he's got to get better at it. He has to take ownership of it."
Ware responded strongly and ended his Summer League stint against Boston with a 21-point, 15-rebound effort that included going 3-3 from three.
Fast forward to the preseason, and it seems that Ware is not going to be a starter for the Heat to begin the year, as Spoelstra seems to prefer Nikola Jovic and Bam Adebayo as his two starting big men.
Based on the box scores, Ware's first two preseason games didn't seem that bad. On Monday against Milwaukee, he had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
But he once again found himself in hot water after a poor showing on the defensive end helped contribute to a +/- of minus 21 on the night.
After Monday's game, Spoelstra stated:
"I'm not looking at the stat line. I think everybody is looking at the wrong thing. It's got to impact the game. I want him the next game to be a plus 20. That's what it's about. That's part of the maturation for a young player. He does really good things, and then when you aren't able to do it consistently, it doesn't impact the game. You don't want to have deflating plays. You want to have inspiring plays."
Once again, Ware responded to the criticism.
Ware looked great against Wemby
When Ware got in on Wednesday night against San Antonio, he looked like a player with something to prove.
Matched up with Victor Wembanyama, Ware was noticeably active on both sides of the court. He immediately drained a couple of threes, had a block on Wembanyama, drove to the rim from a slam dunk, and challenged guys at the rim much better.
He ended the game with a stat line of 29 points and 12 rebounds on 12-19 shooting from the field and a blistering 3-6 from 3-point range.
If that version of Ware can show up every night, then Miami has something special on its hands.
And if it takes Erik Spoelstra calling him out every night, well, do whatever it takes.