Nearly one month ago, Miami Heat big Bam Adebayo set the single-season scoring record against the Washington Wizards, scoring 83 points, the second-most for any player in any game in NBA History.
This time, the Heat, collectively, nearly set another scoring record against the same opponent. In their 16-point rout over the Wizards inside Kaseya Center, the Heat scored 152 points, one off from tying the franchise record.
The final score was far closer than the game indicated. Miami led by as much as 35 points and entered the fourth quarter with 122 points, the most through three quarters in franchise history. However, in the final quarter, the Wizards outscored Miami 45-30 in the third quarter.
Still, the Heat shot 58.1 percent and 43.6 percent from 3-point range. Three Heat players reached 20-plus points, led by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 32 points — a season high — and Kel’el Ware’s 24 points. Jaquez scored 22 of his 32 points in the paint, while Ware gobbled up a team-most 19 rebounds while swatting eight shots, also a new season high.
Andrew Wiggins tallied 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting; Pelle Larsson had 16 points, seven rebounds and four dimes while Kasparas Jakucionis was one assist shy of a 14-point double-double.
The Wizards were significantly shorthanded, missing Alex Sarr, Trae Young, Kyshawn George and Anthony Davis, who has yet to suit up with Washington. They’re also the worst team in the East, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that they’re not trying to win at this point of the season.
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Check out Hot Hot Hoops on Facebook here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
- Erik Spoelstra reportedly viewed as the ‘likely successor’ to Pat Riley
- Recap of Pat Riley’s 2025-26 end of season press conference
- Tyler Herro to undergo ‘minor procedure’ on foot
- 2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Bam Adebayo
- These 3 Heat players should not be on the team next season
- Giannis Antetokounmpo once again flirts with idea of being in Miami ahead of Bucks uncertainty
- Did another mediocre Heat season hold Jaime Jaquez Jr. back from earning Sixth Man of the Year?
final college game no d wades on ct,maras like 8ft tall though
Precious had 8 points and 5 rebounds tonight, so let’s not get enamored with a couple of huge outings. He is what he is, a decent backup center.
More or less decent than Jovic or Johnson?
For the need, more than either.
Yup. Riley makes a habit of not giving Spo the horses he needs to run the race. Yet, he expects him to have a playoff caliber team with a shot at the title every year.
I am not sure whether it’s just Riley’s fault. I mean, Spo must have some say in this, right? We know he likes to play undersized guys, Heat have been playing without a true power forward for ages. Spo used to play Butler and Caleb Martin because there was nobody else to play at this position. It’s a pattern, not a coincidence. The bottom line is it doesn’t work anymore.
Jae Crowder 6’6″ and PJ Tucker 6’5″ also.
a davis 6 11 if crowder was 6 10 thered be a parade on bisc blvd
coach always has a say in draft always
It’s thank you. Draft picks haven’t been that bad. Jaquez, Ware, Larsson, Jakucionis (you wouldn’t know he is only 19). Mature, self-confident, hard worker with potential to be a very good PG in a couple of years.
We obviously lack a viable backup veteran big in the rotation. Precious would have filled that position adequately and I think everyone (including the Heat) knows this. But staying under the apron was apparently more important to the organization, so here we are. We’d probably have a few more wins with Precious in the rotation, but it wouldn’t have put us up to the next tier of teams in the East. This was basically a season of development (younger guys trying to find their roles, Bam trying to develop his outside shot, etc). The unexpected addition of Norm Powell made us slightly better than we should have been, but let’s not put too much stock in this season’s success or failure.
Next season, with Terry Rozier’s $26M coming off the books, we should have the leeway to create a more complete roster with adequate size in the rotation. And, barring another play-in run, we should be getting a lottery pick in this draft. I wish they included more picks as part of the lottery. I’m not expecting the Heat to jump up to a Top 4 pick like Dallas did last year, but it would be nice to be able to slide up to a Top 10 pick. The Heat have done incredibly well drafting in the middle of the first round (Bam, Herro, Jacquez, Ware), but it’d be nice to actually get a blue chipper to develop in one of these drafts.
This is a great take on the issue, M. The waiving of Precious was not just a cap apron issue, but their desire to sign Dru. If memory serves me correctly, Dru was no longer eligible to sign a 2-way contract.
As for the draft I don’t think it is mathematically possible to move up to 10. The 10 teams that are now eliminated from the playoffs own those picks. Number 11 ironically is the Warriors. That’s not a bad thing, since we will get the 41st pick in a very deep draft. So, the best pick we can get would be 12 and more likely 13. Again, considering the talent level of players in that range, it’s not a bad place to be.
I was saying that they should change the way the lottery works to allow more teams to move up, rather than just have the lottery be for the Top 4 picks. It’d definitely help the teams stuck in purgatory like the Heat and also help prevent flat out tanking.
All good points, good assessments. Maybe there is hope for next year.
theres hope if u get a ss bam cant be the best player or second best for jewelry
I mean if we’re going to talk about moves Miami should have made, they should have drafted Maxey over Precious.
Having or not having Precious on this team, wouldn’t change a thing. Adding Tyrese Maxey to this roster, would have.
Very true in hindsight, but Precious was highly regarded at the time. That may have been even worse than the unfortunate Justise over Booker pick, which was a similar situation.
You are correct, maxey should’ve been over precious but Mia not drafting great guards like maxey because pats adopted son herro
pats adopted son is spobot herro would be his grandson
and how would u describe shnozic.a complete bust how i describe
At this point, I can’t say. He’s been a disappointment, plays too passively, looks lost on defense at times, doesn’t rebound commensurate with his size, his shot has been inconsistent. If nothing changes as we get part way into next season, it will be bad, very bad, and a waste of a contract.
You wanted to get rid of Jaquez last season, criticizing him endlessly. Players can improve.
niko was a decent 3 pt shooter until lately.thats the only way he can make it in nba
True, but even if his long distance shot returns, he has to do more than that.
the speed of the game in usa to much for him
If you say so. I don’t know that.
If he can toughen up and be a more aggreessive interior defender and a good mid-range and/or 3 pt shooter, he can make it. Otherwise, I see his story with the Heat ending badly, probably all the way around.
if i was a good poster my name would be sunman from dog bone.aint happening .if niko was tougher more athletic aint happening.if he cant shoot it hes useless
heard spobot just say ware has had his 3 best practices oh is that why u finally let him playlast game smh.besides jovic the other reason for mediocrity is this stubborn fn coach with his small ball philosophy.not one sec of vlad hardly no kj mind boggling the whole team is like 64- 67 .too many of those .vlad is a fairly mobile giant who was great in college got fau to final 4.kj can jump thru the roof and shoot it a little bit.gardner is one scrappy mo fo and he has disappeared.this team is so soft i gues eric likes small soft teams top 15 my ars
Spo’s problem is he has illusions of grandeur and Arison/Riley have champagne tastes but a beer budget.
mickey top ten richest man in the world maybe and hes worried about luxury tax.f spo hes been given wade bron bosh zo sha quitter and so on.hes a spoiled brat .u give any coach in nba talents spobots had their in the same boat as top 15.owners buy teams to make $$ and win rings but here in miami looks like $$ comes first.its hard really to rip pat that much after what hes done for us but its time pat father times gotten u.look at all the sht moves recently pat if mickey wasnt your bf your ars be on the unemployment line.
For the millionth time, the same is true for Jackson, Kerr, Riley, Auerbach, Pop. And, again, LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Zo, and Butler all had their best years WITH MIAMI, despite a few of them being on other talented teams.
And you have such a distorted grasp of reality. FYI, Arison is not even in the top 300 richest people in the world. Yes! Not even in the top 300!
hes cheap anyway u cut it.$$ before rings.im a rings guy.precious rings means alot to hfl.just sneezed (achiuw)
Oh yeah, if we had the career 8 points, 6 rebounds ss, we’d be meeting on Biscayne blvd.
Dear Pat–
If you are going to draft a guy and make a commitment to training him in order for him to reach his full potential as soon as possible, you do not, repeat you do not, have him sitting on the bench most of the game wondering WTF is going on. Capiche?
Ware is one of those centers who works best with a strong PF. He isn’t a physical C. He plays with more finesse. His defense is best when he has primary responsibility for protecting the paint and rebounding while the PF (e.g. Bam or a third rotation PF) roams the floor helping out where he’s needed defensively. Simple job, protect the paint and rebound. On offense, he needs to devote a little more effort to offensive rebounds and keep shooting 3’s whenever he is open. Everyone should be feeding him a steady diet of lobs whenever possible. A good PG can improve a center’s ppg by feeding him point blank lobs for easy dunks.
This brings me now to New Buiness.” I was opposed to it before the trade deadline, but I now think Riley (if he refuses to rebuild), has to take risks in order to elevate the team’s chances of being competitive. I’ve seen two trade ideas for Miami to consider this summer. Both have high risks and high upsides.
So the question now is, “are you feeling lucky” Pat?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
~ Heat Fans ~
“Ja Morant”
“Zion Williamson”
No Thank You
Already have two injury prone players one of whom just got injured again and they stupidly paid him this past summer (Niko). The other will never be traded because the gm sees himself in said player (Pat Riley’s own adopted son Herro)
If any ss or significant upgrade is available. Herro is gone in a New York minute.
Key Takeaways by Spot:
This is far from a complete list of players chosen in the top 10 of their respective drafts. I stopped looking for more names after #5 draft picks. These are some of the greatest players in the history of the league. Do all lottery picks succeed? Of course not. But some of the best ever were top 10/lottery picks.
Nice job in compiling those lists. It pretty much shows that a full tank is required to get the best shot at acquiring a franchise changing talent. You can’t have it both ways. But, if you miss on that chance, the price to pay is years of half full arenas.
Full tank OR fleecing other teams for their picks that end up becoming lottery picks.
a sharp gm like okc nyk ind lal can fleece.pat cant do anything right father time
There are certainly times when you can find a gem like Jokic or Giannis much later. And there are many instances of lottery players that don’t fully pan out or don’t pan out at all. We have a fundamentally solid player on our team, Wiggins. He is one of the most pleasant, mellow players I have ever seen. He never lived up to being the number one pick, but has done well for himself and the teams he has played for.
My point, of course, was to show that the majority of the greatest players in the history of the sport were amongst the top 10 players picked in their respective drafts. There are some here that try to suggest the lottery doesn’t matter. That is just not the case. Maybe we won’t get a much better player at 12 than we would at 16, but it can’t be denied that there will be better choices at 12.
of course the higher u pick the greater chance of better player duh.but fk tanking thats for losers.good teams always find ways to win pat aint good no more.
Most good teams right now are good because of good draft picks. Sure, let’s get into the playoffs to have our asses kicked again.
denv nyk lal okc didnt draft sga can be done both ways .getme a good gm f riley hes done
OKC accumulated a ton of draft picks which allowed them to bring in talent along with tradable picks and players. The Lakers haven’t won anything with the Luka LeBron combination and it’s doubtful they will do so this year. The Knicks have not won since 1973, so, yes, I applaud their great GMs through the years. The Nuggets won their only championship 3 years ago, and it’s also doubtful that they will win this year.
i believe denver is the fav when healthy
Maybe. I think Spurs and OKC can beat them
OKC, San Antonio and Detroit had to tank big time to build their elite teams. Jus sayin…
https://youtu.be/9z-Vq4KHHy8?si=YDhltaIKz-eDHbDB
Jaime’s sister (Gabriela) and UCLA are kicking the crap out of South Carolina by 31 points in the Women’s NCAA Championship Game. U-C-L-A U-C-L-A UCLA Fight Fight Fight.
the least looking of a college coach won it all .close getting to close to the buffets.john woodens very happy
Well…Jovic played his game. Like watching a Seinfeld show about nothing…his impact with his minutes on the game amounted to nothing. He certainly wasn’t game ready mentally or physically as he injured himself the only time he actually jumped. Again…based on his contract vs production he without any question has become the worst basketball player in Heat history. Now…his latest comments reveal his delusional thinking.
Jaquez on off by season
23-24: +3.0 (finished 4th in ROY voting)
24-25: -9 (injured)
25-26: +2.2 (averaging 15/5/5 this year, likely 2nd in 6MOTY)
Jaquez-Bam two man lineup +8.2 in 951 min
This his third year when he finds his game and it stabilizes. Now one of the top back-ups in the NBA. Should get 6MOY.
i mean whens is it time to start him play him 35 mins.or do we leave him to come off bench.i say start him in playin alongside bam ware give them all 40 mins.i believe jjj is a better player than wiggy but its close so maybe star jjj at the 2 and let wiggy play 40 at sf.theres no tomorrow in playin.i dont care what 2015 stat man says ware is a top 3 rim pro in nba.u dont want ware to far from basket on d.with him and bare around the hoop id have pelle jjj wiggy guarding perimeter.davs good defender but guys just shoot right over him.pelle much bigger ditto jjj wiggy.so in conclusion vs orl with franz im going pointless and my starting 5 all getting 40 mins ware bam jjj pelle wiggy.but spobot is so stubborn and robotic he will go with dav ty pelle wiggy bam.although i am hoping ty is injured and wont play
First, hoping a player on your own team is injured is pretty disgusting. Second, Coach Thibs Jr, you’ve suggested 4 players should play 40 minutes a game. Ain’t gonna happen. FYI, there is not a single player averaging 40 minutes per game this season.
Because Thibs isn’t a head coach. He runs his players into the ground.
Yes, that was kinda my point 😉
Jovic blaming the Heat’s new offense for his struggles, when everyone else including the players better than him have bought in to the offense, not a good look. With that 4/62 extension starting he is untradeable right now without Heat attaching draft compensation. That’s a sizeable contract in this CBA
Ware is only midway through his rookie contract, making only $4.6m next year, think an outcome to watch is if another team sees upside to his offense and he is part of a larger trade this summer. It’s not just that he’s bad on defense but has shown no flashes of upside there, which is the main thing to look for. Instead Spoelstra last night is saying he needs to work on having his hands up more on defense (after game 77 in the season). Defense is a talent like offense, and it’s hard to find two way players who are talented at both
i would say defense is more of a mentality than talent.its tiring to give 100% on both sides of the court.lebron would always pick and choose when to defend hard.
Barkley always talks about how energy and effort is a skill/talent
Lebron was/is a two way guy, had the defensive talent and turned it on when it mattered. Where other stars in the league are one way – Donovan Mitchell, James Harden etc
Jerry West in 2017 talked about looking for two way players in the draft as the key to scouting:
“If I were going to a game and watch, I always wanted to see a player when he played his worst. His worst. Not his best. I think when somebody plays their best you always got excited about it, but that’s not really who a player is unless he’s extraordinary. Every year there’s a few extraordinary ones. For those kind of players, when you watch them play their worst, do they still play basketball?
The thing that was really important to me: How hard is this guy going to play? If he can’t play hard in college – then it was about a 28-, 30-game schedule, now it’s about a 36-game schedule – how in the world are they going to play hard in an 82-game schedule? That limits them immediately from a coaching perspective because a coach does not need to motivate someone to play hard. If you have to motivate someone to play hard, that’s not a fun thing to do.
But at the end of the day, there’s usually one skill that follows kids around. If you rebound at the collegiate you’re probably going to rebound in the NBA. That’s one skill that usually transforms into something you can usually count on. The rest of it is “I really like this guy. I like his passion. Can he shoot? Can we make him shoot the ball better?” Well, if you’ve got a system in place to make him shoot the ball better, that can make him a great player, and a perfect example is Kawhi Leonard. I love him.
He plays under the radar. He’s one of the best players in the league, by far, because he’s a two-way player. He was kind of a one-way player in college. But you look at him offensively now, he’s so skilled and he shoots the ball so darned well. I think he shoots like 90 percent from the line. Everyone knew he was a terrific athlete and everyone knew he played the game hard, but a lot of people passed on him because they didn’t think he could shoot the ball. And now we have an All-Pro player that was drafted, what, 14 or 18 or something like that (15th) and traded? Tremendous player. They saw something in him. A few teams see something when they get players that are a little bit flawed because some of their skills are not what they should be, but they have athletic ability and work ethic. That’s what I’m talking about with hard work. His hard work has made him.
I do like to go back, after like three years, even today, the players that were taken in the lottery. And I will tell you, people think being in the lottery is a fantastic thing? How many lottery picks have really not been good? A bunch. Not a little bit. A bunch…. It tells you about these so-called experts. I don’t think anyone’s an expert. But I do think some people have a better educated guess.”
https://www.nba.com/news/jerry-west-talks-nba-draft-q
So interesting. One little tidbit from the commentary is relating shooting ability to free throw percentage. I’m sure it’s not a perfect relationship but there is probably a high correlation. Perhaps it’s a statistic to look at when drafting a player. But, far more important is what kind of effort you put out on your worst shooting days and how high is your motor. I would say a big part of Jaime’s success is his extremely high motor.
Jovic is a joke and so is the man who gave him that rediculous contract. Riley better not compound his f/u by giving away a draft pick to get rid of him. Jovic has this summer to figure out his role and to grow a pair before his new contract kicks in.
P.S. Jaime is in the same position Jovic was last year. He is eligible for an extension to begin in 2027-2028. If Jovic was worth $62M/4 years, Jaquez will be worth a bit more. $80M/4 years sonds about right, especially if he wins 6MOY. He is currently battling Keldon Johnson for the award.
Ware has only been playing regularly since January 2025. He has the tools. He just needs the experience and proper coaching. It isn’t every day someone pulls down 19 rebounds and has 7 blocks in an NBA game, even if it is against Washington. He needs to be paired with Bam and with another defensive PF in order to accentuate his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. The reason he gets stuck out there on his own defensively, is that Miami has no other PF capable of playing 15-20 minutes of solid defense per game. Jovic may have been the third big Riley was expecting to step up. However, he is not physically aggressive nor defensively skilled enough to play, even in a fill-in role.
Preach!
i would have played bam ware 35 kj vlad 13 what do i know
Very stubborn, close-minded people.
If a team is 5% worse at defensive rebounding with a player on the court, what does it matter what the player’s individual rebounding numbers are? And if the opponent scores more when the player is on the court than off, what does it matter how many blocks they have?
That’s the situation with Ware this year. To some extent those on off numbers are impacted by Bam, because Ware is the backup to Bam and Bam is a DPOY level rebounder and defender, Ware will look somewhat worse in comparison.
But independent of Bam, Ware loses the minutes he plays (-5.9 in 987 minutes without Bam). Wiggins is the Heat’s PF most nights, and in 627 minutes with Wiggins and Ware the Heat are -5.4, while Wiggins without Ware in 1174 minutes is +1.
The coach is telling Ware he needs to get his hands up on defense, with 4 games to go in the season. Even given his age/experience, these aren’t good signs at all. Depending on how other teams view Ware’s potential, I would guess that Ware is moved this offseason if the Heat make a trade and finishes his rookie contract on another team.
Ware is not Bam’s back-up. He is a center. Bam is a natural PF being played out of position as a C. Likewise, Wiggins is a SF playing out of position as a PF because Riley insists on playing small ball line-ups.
The reasons Miami is giving up so many points is because other teams are getting younger, taller and faster. Why do you think Miami is 0-5 so far this season vs Magic? So far because they may meet again in the play-ins.
Ware is the first legitimate center Heat have had in years and they are misusing him. If this had truly been a gap year, Heat could have started him all year with Bam at his natural PF position. Instead, Spo is playing head games with him and gaslighting himself into believing the Heat can be a contender without a ss/clutch closer or back-up C or PF. To me, the terms mismanagement and incompetence come to mind.
The Heat needs to get rid of dead weight such as Herro, Jovic and Rozier and let Powell, Wiggins and Fontecchio walk. Another year of this bullshit and Heat will start losing fans. Staying mediocre for a fifth consecutive season won’t cut it.
Position based not on height but on who you can guard – Ware is a 5 only, Bam is a 5 who can also play 4, Wiggins is a wing/3 who can also play 4, etc
For what happened vs ORL – Miami was 0-5, but just -27 over those 5 games. Bam was +1, Ware -55
Miami was -16 in rebounds, including +1 in rebounds through the first 4 games with Wiggins. Wiggins was out on 3/14 and ORL was +17 in rebounds that game. Ware started and played 27 minutes that game and was -17
ORL also shot 39% from 3 over the five games, well above their season average of 34.4%
how did bam guard jokic just to small.prime embid would always kill little bam.luckily for bam very few good bigs in nba ,wiggins is not strong enough to guard good pfs banchero randle .a position of a player is generally determined by their size same in football o .linemen weigh 300 -330.if your a guy who weighs 280 better beef up to be an olineman.if your a wr who weighs 230 u become a tight end.if your a rb who weighs 240 u become a fb.bam to small for center.wigg to small for pf.pat and spo have lost it.hopefully sunman has some patience
Embiid 22/10 vs Bam in 24 games. Embiid career avg 27.6/10.8
Embiid career high vs Bam: 35
vs Wemby 70
vs Gobert 51
Jokic 24/12 vs Bam in 23 games. Jokic career 22/11
Jokic career high vs Bam: 41
vs Wemby 46
vs Gobert 61
In the 23 Finals in five games Jokic was +42 in points and +8 in rebounds vs Bam, and won Finals MVP. No shame in that
prime embid ate bam up embids been a shell of himself lately.bam barely came up to jokes nipples friggin joke.no pf in nba can guard joker.i ve seen big guys give joker a much harder time than our all star pf.coach hfl putting that big russian monster vlad on joker same size just as strong and mobile.bam has no shot vs the joker just based on the size factor stat man watch the games little bit.were u a heat fan during jimmys finals runs here.back than we head a dead man who would have matched up defensively better than our pf.size matters
Embiid
vs Wemby 39.5/10.5 in 2 games
vs Duren 28.8/11 in 4 games
vs Jokic 27.6/11.3 in 8 games
vs Gobert 27.5/11.5 in 11 games
vs Steven Adams 26.3/9.3 in 8 games
vs Bam 22/10.3 in 24 games
Jokic
vs Wemby 37.3/10.9 in 7 games
vs Gobert 26.1/10.4 in 50 games
vs Duren 24.8/11.2 in 6 games
vs Bam 24.1/12 in 23 games
vs Steven Adams 23.7/9.6 in 29 games
vs Embiid 22.3/10.1 in 8 games
You have to get away from height as the key measurement of someone’s defense.
Standing reach is more important than height. Bam’s standing reach is 9′, same as Anthony Davis. 1.5″ below Steven Adams (9’1.5″)
jovic doesnt have nba skills cant get to hoop cant shoot it.jjj can get to hoop.jaco looks like great shooter gets to hoop little bit.how many times have u seen jovic try to get to hoop successfully maybe 1 out of 20 dude cant play in nba.shnozzy gonnna have to work on that j to survive here.in serbia hed be 1st team all serbia
Exactly. Ware has noone else to help him without Bam in there. And Wiggins is usually not in with Ware either, so Ware’s defensive stats are associated with lack of support, at least in part. I’m a believer that, with the proper cast around him, and this is where Precious really would have helped, I still think Ware’s defense, his rim protection and his rebounding, could be an asset.
Another good point. It’s why stats are only one part of the equation and other factors have to be taken into account, as you point out. And in case anyone wondered, Ware’s standing reach is 9’ 4 1/2”, or 4 1/2” more than Bam.
Absolutely.
Main trend this year – there is a 7 point swing per 100 possessions/basically per game (the Heat average 103.6 possessions/game and the league average is 99) when going from Bam to Ware, starting 5 to backup 5
Heat are +6.6 in Bam’s 2224 minutes and -0.4 in Ware’s 1627 minutes
When taking out low leverage minutes, Heat are +5.1 in Bam’s 1994 minutes, -2 in Ware’s 1392 minutes
A main factor in this is that the team is -4.4% in DREB% with Ware on the court (vs +6.7% with Bam).
Heat are +2.7% in BLK% with Ware, vs -1.9% with Bam. But opponents Offensive rating is +3.2 points better with Ware, -4.4 worse with Bam. Heat in other words have the #4 defense in Bam’s minutes, the #20 defense in Ware’s minutes, despite being lower in blocks with Bam. Blocks by themselves don’t say anything about defense.
These season long stats show up in individual games that are competitive. One example, the Heat won vs the 76ers by 10 points (+27 in Bam’s 42 minutes and -17 in the 6 minutes he was off the court). Ware was -14 that game in 13 minutes (+3 in the 7 minutes he played with Bam and -17 in the 6 minutes as the only big). If Bam does not outplay Embiid by such a huge margin that game – if he is a +16 instead of a +27 – the Heat lose by 1 instead of winning by 10, which is how the Heat have lost a lot of games this year, and will be key in these games vs Toronto.
What are the +/- numbers for Herro and the team’s +/- numbers when he is in the line,-up?
At this point, what Miami does against Toronto is not important. It’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. If the goal is to come out of the play-ins just to get cornholed by Detroit or Boston, I’ll pass.
-1.8 in 952 minutes (30 games), -1.3 in 866 minutes with low leverage minutes removed
Last year +1.3 in 2714 minutes, +0.7 in 2554 minutes w/ low leverage minutes removed
No one wants to get cornholed. It’s probably quite unpleasant.
Amen!
Below are some excerpts from pretty reliable sources about Ware. It’s a pretty fair assessment in my opinion. Is Ware currently a perfect player? Of course not. Does he need to be more consistent and focused? Absolutely. Is he part of the future of this team? Again, yes. Or, at the very least, he can be a valuable asset in a trade. He will be only 22 later this month and will likely continue to improve.
AUCH – excerpts..
Kel’el Ware might have the highest ceiling of the Miami Heat’s young core. But as NBA writer Sam Vecenie points out, he’s still ver much a work in progress and the unfortunate part about that is, right now, his upside may not translate to winning basketball every night. There are some nights when it feels like Ware can’t do wrong. On the other hand, there are also games in which it looks like Ware can do no right. But that’s often what the development of a young player looks like.
SI prior to all star break –
Kel’el Ware has had an up and down career, but he just earned a promising reward. Ware was named as one of the sophomore players to the NBA’s Rising Stars game. This was well deserved as he has been one of the best players in his draft class and has been steadily improving.
Ware is one of the most naturally talented players on the Heat and in his whole draft class. He has the ability to do everything on the court, but what is his biggest strength? In my opinion, Ware’s biggest strengths come on the offensive side of the floor. He does get blocks and they are fun to watch but where he can really make a difference is his scoring potential.
Sporting News after tonight’s game –
The Miami Hey have a talented roster across the board. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has plenty of weapons in his arsenal, but it is evident that Kel’el Ware is the most promising youngster. Everybody recognizes this, including center Bam Adebayo.
Ware is one of the most promising players on the Heat roster because of his skill set and potential. In his limited minutes this season, Ware has shown that he can thrive in Spoelstra’s system.
With his potential, Ware is playing under a bit of pressure. However, it seems that Adebayo has full faith that his youngster will shine for the Heat for years to come.
“Obviously, he’s just been truly engaged. You’ve seen he had eight blocks; that’s a crazy stat line. You can see what he can do… He’s been really locked in, and we need that version of Kel’el if we’re going to do something special”
is he lacksidazical at times because thats who he is or maybe SPOradic frustrated lack of pt.either way unacceptable.
One more thing about Ware. I would bet BIG BUCKS that he will be on the team next season UNLESS he is involved in a trade that brings back a very good player. Some see his value, some don’t. We’ll see how it plays out.
If Miami has given Jovic 4 years to get his shit together, they can do the same for Ware. After all, it’s not as though he is being paid $40M-$50M a year; he’s still on his rookie contract.
Could not agree more. Ware will likely continue to improve. Most people, the announcers, the post game folks including the very astute Rothstein, independent analysts, and most of us here, see the potential of Ware and his value. We know that at least one team who wanted him as part of a trade and I’m certain other GMs see him as the asset he is.
That game was a joke. Like watching Miami play Sioux Falls. I turned it off after 3 quarters.
I wish Miami had ended the season yesterday. That way, we could be talking about trades, drafts, expiring contracts and extensions, rather than having to continue enduring another mediocre (aka slow death) season.
bams 4th qtr 83pt game was a joke to against this g league team
The good offensive games by Jaimie, Kel’el, Pelle, Andrew and Bam were pretty impressive even though we were playing a tanker. They are all good players. And, there was the comforting thought while watching that at least we aren’t Washington. But, maybe next year things will finally get a little better for the Wizards.
Wizards, Pacers, Bucks and possibly Bulls will be playoff contenders next year. Young teams such as Atlanta, Charlotte and Orlando will also be in the playoff hunt.
The obvious choice rather than trying to project the Heat as a contender when it isn’t, maybe Miami should consider re-building. I would stick with them as long as I see incremental improvements while the young players develop.
After 4 straight play-ins), if Riley continues his stubborness by insisting low bid/peripheral patch jobs are all that the Heat requires to be a contender, I’m outa here. No mas Sunman.
In most other professional sports organizations, the GM would have been fired by now. If 80 year old presidents can get dementia, so can 80 year old GMs.
jeez dont leave us sunman thats almost the same as eric reid retiring.heat games will be unlistenable unless there good hhh post game comments unreadable.u drive this site bro u are the lebron the rest of us are mike millers shane battiers and mario chalmers of post game comments.
LMAO!
Thanks Heat. I appreciate your comments.I don’t plan to leave any time soon. However, I am getting tired of Riley refusing to pick a different path, other than the safe road to mediocrity he has been on for years.
I was watching the Final Four and saw several potential first and second rounders out there. I also saw a couple that looked a bit raw, but who have potential which may be available for 2 way contracts if they go undrafted.
Check out the latest mock draft.
https://nbadraftroom.com/2026-nba-draft-big-board-6-0-its-draft-season-baby/
a front court of ware bam jjj next year name 5 better..pelle jaco our 2gs get friggin stud pg . a maxey brunson type pg with those 4 your looking at good times again,i say we are one really good pg away and some bench help from challenging for jewelry,norm wiggy dru herro and simonne not part of future .jovic were riley stuck with .
Good comment. I feel the same about our Sun Man. But, there is a possibility things could get worse before better and we do need to have some reason for optimism. Still, I tried to leave at one point but couldn’t do it. No matter how the Heat do, it’s always fascinating to watch and experience.
been a dolphins fan for 60 years heat and marlins from day 1 cats johhny come lately your a so fla guy so am i weve prob crossed paths in the past sunman from az/calif originally suns fan became frustrated with them dragic came here sunman also .the mans posts are lebronish night after night.occasionally i’ll have a lebron posts but usually my posts are herroish to adebayoish just not good enough.in order for hhh to compete with the best we need to feature sunman as our go to poster
Muchas gracias amigo. At least your posts aren’t Jovicish to Rozierish.
I sure do hope the Heat pursues a different path this summer, if unable to land a whale (without gutting the team).
I do believe the team has a solid core, but needs a ss, front court help and a two way SG to replace Herro and Powell.
jjj pelle not ss but two wayers and both can score a little bit especially jjj.theres no way a guy that guards like herro should ever hit the ct if my posts were jocivish id have been banned by now