After the Miami Heat traded Thomas Bryant to the Indiana Pacers for a 2031 second-round pick swap, a lane opened up for first-round rookie Kel’el Ware, who has been out of the rotation for most of the season behind Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love.
Love, 36, has looked like a shell of himself behind Adebayo after being one of the best backup bigs in the NBA a year ago. He’s been in-and-out of the rotation with personal matters, having only played 15 of the team’s first 29 games.
With Ware’s recent insertion into the rotation, there’s been good. But there’s also been bad, given his lack of strength, shooting touch and mental acuity defensively in spurts.
It was never going to be perfect; growth isn’t always linear, just like it wasn’t for Bam Adebayo, Josh Richardson, Tyler Herro, Justise Winslow, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic or Jaime Jaquez, among others. I could go on, but I digress.
That said, to maximize his skillset offensively whenever he’s on the floor, the Heat must attempt to lean into arguably his best trait: Vertical spacing.
Heat Should Lean Into Kel’el Ware’s Vertical Spacing:
Having quality spacing is paramount to succeed in modern-day basketball, especially in the NBA. Spreading the floor with multiple capable shooters makes it more difficult for defenses to guard.
There’s more than one way to create space, however. And vertical spacing–having a conceivable lob threat–is one way to do it.
The Heat further modernized their offensive approach this season by eliminating long 2s and taking more 3s, thus opening up more opportunities to generate paint touches–arguably the most fashionable form of offense. Miami’s spacing still isn’t always clean. But when Ware is on the floor, he operates best as a screen-and-roll threat. And the 7-foot athletic big is the team’s biggest target the team has as a vertical spacer.
One element of having a noticeable lob threat is making the drop big pick your poison. That’s exactly what Tyler Herro sees in this first clip.
Herro and Kel’el Ware attempt to initiate an empty corner DHO, where Herro has to flip his direction three times before the action is completed. Herro has to pick up his dribble early because of a stunting Naz Reid, defending Jaime Jaquez (below-average shooter) one pass away. But as soon as a retreating Gobert, the drop big, inches towards Herro, he can throw a lob that Ware skies for and finishes.
A similar read is made with this second clip. Though this time, Herro rejects the screen with Simone Fontecchio overplaying the action. Pelle Larsson and Duncan Robinson occupy both Ron Holland and Jaden Ivey on the weak side, preventing Holland–the tag defender–from rotating; Stewart steps up to Ware, with Herro lobbing it up over the 6-foot-9 big.
In the third clip, the Heat are in a delay set with Ware and Terry Rozier initiating a DHO above-the-break. Though Ware immediately looks to set a veer screen for Herro. He slips the screen and his gigantic frame allows Rozier to throw it up to the corner of the backboard from nearly 30 feet away for Ware to snatch-and-slam.
Creating lob opportunities doesn’t always have to be generated as a roller, either. In these clips above, Miami’s ballhandlers find a way to either create advantages off switches or attacking closeouts with Ware parked at the dunker spot or block. Once again, it makes opposing bigs pick their poison in 2-on-1s if immediate help isn’t available.
Kel’el Ware’s presence as a vertical spacer inherently compromises the back-line of (rotating) defenses when he’s around the rim, thus opening up shots for his Heat teammates around the rim and beyond the arc.
The Heat does lack true playmaking. Tyler Herro has made strides as a playmaker, as has Duncan Robinson. Isaiah Stevens is an excellent playmaker, but he can only be available for a max of 31 games because Miami only has 14 players on standard deals.
The spacing surrounding Ware is also important. You can’t surround him with multiple non-shooters that can make defenses pack the paint and eliminate his threat as a vertical spacer. A perfect blend of playmaking and spacing could unlock Ware in a way we haven’t seen since Goran Dragic consistently heaved lobs to Bam Adebayo in the bubble.
“I love playing with Kel’el,” Herro said earlier this week, according to The Athletic’s James Jackson. “I just look forward to the growth of our chemistry, our two-man action — and then, the growth of Kel’el himself. He’s been really, really good since we’ve gotten him. From the beginning of training camp, you see the glimpses, the skill set … on offense, you see the lob threat. You just throw it up there, and he goes and gets it. I love playing with guys like that.”
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Bottom line is the Heat should sacrifice this year in order to play and expedite the development of their younger players, starting with Ware, Johnson, Larsson, and Stevens. Worst case scenario, they will be a lottery team (if it finishes 11th or lower) or a play-in team that either wins (for the right to play either Boston or Celtics in the first round) or loses and gets to keep it’s lottery pick, (rather than losing it to OKC).
Therefore, it is in Miami’s best interest to trade Butler, Robinson and Rozier, at minimum, and stockpile young assets and draft picks so the team can go into full re-load/re-build mode this summer. Clearing up cap space and adding draft picks would give Miami the flexibility to draft young talented players, trade for and recruit free agents to pair with Bam, Herro, Ware and the younger players.