Heading into the 2024-25 regular season, the Miami Heat are looking to shake off back-to-back play-in appearances. Miami finished last season with a 46-36 record–one game back of the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers, two back of the Cleveland Cavaliers and three back of the Milwaukee Bucks.
The middle of the East was airtight. Miami struggled significantly against good teams–dissimilar to its 2022-23 season–while suffering a few detrimental losses to bad teams in the latter half of the regular season. And according to Bleacher Report NBA writer Grant Hughes, their X-Factor for success heading into the season could be a new face: First-round rookie Kel’el Ware.
“Ware, a 20-year-old big man with a high-revving motor, looked great in transition and as an attacking offensive force in the halfcourt. He doesn’t space the floor yet, and it may be a while before he proves capable of defending against guards in switching situations, but he may not need those skills to make sense alongside Bam Adebayo in Miami’s rotation.
“A starting gig isn’t a given, but Ware’s athleticism and energy would greatly help a Heat team that doesn’t get those qualities from many other sources. If Adebayo finally adds moderate-volume three-point shooting to his repertoire, Ware’s fit will be even better.”
Ware, who turned 20-years-old in February, has gotten plenty of recognition throughout the summer. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton dubbed him the best rookie in Summer League; he was one of two rookies (Reed Sheppard — Rockets) who made All-SL first team; he played a crucial part in the Heat capturing their first Vegas SL Title ever, averaging 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in eight combined games.
Is Kel’el Ware the team’s biggest X-Factor heading into the 2024-25 season?
I don’t foresee head coach Erik Spoelstra giving Ware a whole lot of runway from the jump. I could be wrong–it wouldn’t be the first time, nor would it be the last.
It’s easy to make that prediction a month-and-a-half out from the start of training camp–which is expected to open on Oct. 1 in The Bahamas–just like it would be easy to say Spoelstra’s going to play him right away. Ware isn’t the perfect prospect, nor is any single rookie before they play a single NBA game. He’s far from a finished product, and this organization is as good as anyone at developing talent. There’s a reason to entrust the organization with its plan for Ware, regardless of where they see him versus where I–or any other fan, neutral observer, talent evaluator, executive, teammate, etc.–see him in the fold.
What Ware provides is something that the Miami Heat haven’t had behind Bam Adebayo over the last five years: An athletic 7-foot presence. He needs to bulk up while continuing to refine his defensive positioning (in drop) and shooting, but he possesses the athletic tools and overall skillset that could prove to be useful, whether he starts or not.
Perhaps Spoelstra explores starting Ware with Bam and Butler–should all consistently space the floor better, which is a tall task. Of course, there could be some circumstances where he starts out of necessity–after all, we did see the Heat start a franchise-record 35 starting lineups in 82 games due to injury. Let’s hope it doesn’t have to come to that again.
Nevertheless, Ware projects to be Miami’s best big behind Adebayo long-term (should he maintain that role) … and perhaps in the short-term. That’s a low bar–hello Dewayne Dedmon, Cody Zeller, Omer Yurtseven and Thomas Bryant–to surpass, given their year-to-year impacts, respectfully.
Now, with all that said, I’m not sure I would peg a rookie to be the team’s biggest X-Factor before we can confidently say he cracks Spoelstra’s 9-10-man rotation to begin the new campaign. You could argue that he’s one of the team’s biggest X-Factors by season’s end, but there are myriad factors for that–as there would be for other options.
Said options, for more reasons than one, could be Duncan Robinson and Terry Rozier–who are both coming off the most serious injuries of their careers–plus Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic and Kevin Love, among others.
Who do you think is the team’s biggest X-Factor heading into the new season? Let us know in the comments!
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If nothing else, Miami will have one of the deepest rotations in the league. Much depth and trade fillers when the time comes.
Everyone healthy (cross fingers) lots can be the X factor. We’ll see.
The biggest x-factor is the same one it’s been over the past 2-3 seasons. It’s Tyler Herro. If that dude can play like a borderline all-star, then this team has two other all-stars and enough quality role players to compete for a championship. If he plays like Lou Williams or Jamaal Crawford, that’s great, but that means this team still doesn’t have a third best player. And if it doesn’t happen next season, I’d rather put my faith in JJJ than Herro
Will be true until it can’t be anymore. It’ll be tough in the playoffs but what’s keeping him from being the version he was in the win against the Celtics for 65 games during the regular season each year?
That’d let Jimmy hide a little and coast into the playoffs.