(Photo via Imagn Images)
After Bam Adebayo went down with a toe injury a few weeks ago, the Miami Heat needed instant answers with their center position. Unfortunately, their clear lack of big man depth is something that Pat Riley and the front office did not ultimately address heading into the 2025-26 season.
Adebayo and Kel’el Ware are the only two real centers on the Heat’s entire standard roster.
They do have two-way contract rookie Vlad Goldin, although he is seemingly still so raw that he hasn’t even cracked a single minute of playing time— even with Adebayo’s injury. Nikola Jovic has gotten some minutes as a small ball center when Ware takes a breather, but Jovic is dealing with his own struggles. Additionally, Keshad Johnson has been forced into getting small ball center minutes as well, and has looked virtually unplayable in those minutes.
That only leaves one real answer for Miami in the meantime until Adebayo returns: an increased role for Ware.
The 7-foot sophomore began the season in and out of the starting lineup with some consistency issues. However, the Heat’s recent need for production out of Ware has led to the talented young big finally turning the corner. He has provided a much needed impact for coach Erik Spoelstra when they needed him the most. And it has been super encouraging to see him find his footing as of late.
Kel’el Ware has been dominant in the Miami Heat’s last four games:
- 16 PTS – 14 REBS – 3 BLKS – 78 FG%
- 15 PTS – 10 REBS – 3 BLKS – 63 FG%
- 15 PTS – 13 REBS – 1 BLK – 86 FG%
- 14 PTS – 20 REBS – 1 BLK – 50 FG%
These performances come out to averages of 15 points, 14.3 rebounds and two blocks per game on 69.3% from the field.
Ware has been a monster on the glass recently for Miami; securing four consecutive double-double outings while being efficient offensively. His emergence isn’t just needed while Adebayo remains sidelined, but even once he returns to play alongside him. Ware is arguably the biggest X-factor for the Heat this season.
His ability to add an interior presence with his size and length on both ends poses as a game changer for this team. When he is engaged, the stats and impact show it, and a locked in Ware is capable of increasing the Heat’s upside in a wide open Eastern Conference.
Udonis Haslem has been mentoring Kel’el Ware behind the scenes
After Miami’s loss to the New York Knicks this past weekend, former 20-year Heat veteran and captain Udonis Haslem contacted Ware to motivate him on ways he can improve to help the team win. The Heat had gotten beaten up on the glass— specifically with allowing offensive rebounds and second-chance points.
As the starting center, Haslem wanted to see more from Ware to fix that notion. Luckily for him, Ware had a perfect opportunity to respond with a better effort in a rematch against that same Knicks team on Monday, leading to a bounce back win.
“He’s one of the people that hangs his hat on rebounds. Hearing he wants me to be better is motivation for me to go and box out more and get better at that.”
— Kel’el Ware on playing with ‘force’ & ‘aggression’ after talking with Udonis Haslem
Ware contributed a 16 points and 14 rebounds double-double, along with 3 blocks on 78% shooting. He was active and aggressive on every single possession, and his impact played a major part in the Heat securing the victory.
With Adebayo’s inevitable return from injury on the horizon, Miami will need to keep seeing these efforts from Ware. That frontcourt duo has potential to be special, and it will only benefit more wins for the Heat during the course of this new campaign. Ware is still young and developing, but he can’t let his foot off the gas.
The best version of this Heat team comes with Ware bringing a consistent impact. He needs to continue stacking up strong days like he has been recently, but the vision is certainly there.
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Past 3-4 games, every game is his best game. I hope he will continue in this direction.
gsw on b2b lost last night to orlando
not heat related good to see lebron back nba is better when he is playing
depending on how he is playing.
good to see him back sciatica is tricky i have that it really never goes away just depends on how bad pain is.only way to get better is shut body down.at his age he beats you mentally more than physically.he’ll be magic johnson 2.0 now
Ware still hasn’t reached his full potential and we still don’t know how high his ceiling is. But, he is doing a lot of things really well already and you can see he’s making progress steadily. I think he’s already established himself as a good player, one that will only grow in value.
He was a monster in that last game.
He has all-star potential. Definitely a 20/10 guy if he sets his mind to it and he has his teammates feeding him those lobs.
one thing i like he very rarely goes for pump fakes.he just needs to be a little more physical.i want him and bam on ct alot but we have no backup behind bam and ware what a glaring hole pat
Hey, that’s exactly the way I put it earlier – that it seems he’s turned the corner. It does appear that way to me, as if he suddenly realized that he could play hard AND have fun doing it. He was fired up in ways last night that I hadn’t seen before.
He seemed to hate the Knicks and KAT as much as I do. lol
We need to see if he can keep it up once Bam is back. I think so, but dynamics change.
waiting for your boy to improve hes going the wrong way your mip
You are the last person to be calling anyone out on player performances, that’s for freaking sure.
once bams back u wont see that production from ware.gotta figure out how to maximize ware with bam on ct with him
That’s what coaching is for. Another variable will be a third rotation big once Riley brings one in. Preferably a big mobile PF who can rebound, defend and run. There are a few out there.
hasnt looked good when playing with bam by himself his ceiling higher than bams
Offensively, yes. Defensively, no. Bam can guard 1 through 5. Very few players can do that.
dramond i think is a better more versatile defender than bam? ad when healthy great defender on bigs only..
And Bam is obviously a better offensive player than Draymond.
draymond is a much better passer though he has no offense draymond sort of modern day rodman.great team player knows his role and excels at it.very high bball iq
i thought perfect guy for that we are playimg against tonight big al .little long in tooth but fits the bill
We all need to be patient with him, especially if he’s giving it his best. Rome wasn’t built in a day.