"There was a long moment in time when it seemed like Kel'el Ware was a rising star in the Miami Heat organization, moving up the ladder and building out a large role as a core piece of the team. This preseason, however, has been more of a gut punch than a victory parade for the young big man. The Heat have played two preseason games thus far, and while they have been missing key guards in Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell -- quite possibly their starting backcourt -- their frontcourt has been healthy and available."
"The last two weeks have not been kind to Ware. The Heat agreed to a long-term contract extension with Nikola Jovic, cementing him as a piece in the frontcourt. That would be fine for Ware, except then head coach Erik Spoelstra started Jovic over Ware in both games. When asked about Jovic entering the starting lineup, Spoelstra said, "I'll see what we do with the starting lineup. Niko's played well. Does that mean he's going to start Day 1? I don't know. But I like what he's doing right now.""
Kel'el Ware started 36 games as a rookie and projected as a long-term option due to rim defense and three-point ability. Early preseason action has seen Ware come off the bench in both games despite a healthy frontcourt and missing guards. Nikola Jovic received a long-term extension and began the preseason as the starter beside Bam Adebayo. Coach Erik Spoelstra praised Jovic's play and indicated Jovic is performing well enough to warrant his current role. Ware will still play minutes alongside Adebayo but faces a setback in role stability and immediate progression.
Read at All U Can Heat
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]