Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t reveal his lineup decisions ahead of games very often, but on Saturday night, it was all too obvious that rookie Kel’el Ware was going to play, so he didn’t hide it.
With Kevin Love out for personal reasons, and Thomas Bryant recently traded away, Ware was Miami’s only backup center on the roster. When asked if Ware could expect minutes during his pregame media session, Spoelstra said he would.
Heat rookie Kel'el Ware should see more playing time going forward.
Ware entered the game midway through the first quarter, making his first game action with the Heat since Nov. 27. He had either been out of the rotation or on G League assigned for the Heat’s previous nine games.
Ware, the 15th pick in June’s draft, finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes off the bench. The Heat out-scored the Magic by 26 points in his minutes.
“I thought he was really good,” Spoelstra said.
Good enough to warrant more playing time going forward?
It looks like it, at least in the near term.
Love is questionable for Monday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, again for personal reasons. That could thrust Ware back into reserve minutes and give the him another chance to impress the coaching staff.
But even if and when Love is available again, there’s an argument for Ware to keep seeing the court. At 36 years old, Love is still a helpful player but, after a promising start to his season, the Heat have been out-scored by 15 points over Love’s last eight games.
Meanwhile, Ware has been toiling away in the G League or taking mental notes while on the Heat bench. The 20-year-old 7-footer offers the kind of size and shot-blocking potential otherwise not found on Miami’s roster.
In Saturday’s loss, Ware’s highlights included finishing a Terry Rozier lob with a dunk and a swift, weakside block on Wendell Carter Jr. layup.
That size and shot-blocking potential adds a different dynamic to the Heat on both ends of the court. What remains to be seen is whether the Heat can play minutes with both Ware and Bam Adebayo on the court at the same time, something the team hinted at in the preseason but has yet to roll out for a single minute.
If Jimmy Butler misses his second straight game with a stomach bug, that could open the door for the Heat to experiment with their lineups, just as Spoelstra did in Orlando when he started a brand-new lineup of Tyler Herro, Dru Smith, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic and Adebayo.
“The dynamic changes if Jimmy is out,” Spoelstra said.
It’s unlikely that Spoelstra will give Ware the start against a smaller Nets team, but he could find a few minutes in different pockets of the game to get a look at a double-big frontcourt.
Whatever the lineup, Ware seems poised to see more playing time while the Heat await the returns of Butler and Love. A strong showing could earn him a more permanent place in the rotation.