The month of January has been the emergence of Kel’el Ware for the Miami Heat organization. The rookie big man has averaged 13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this month of play.
On Monday, Sam Vecenie, an NBA Senior Writer for The Athletic, released a new episode on his Game Theory Podcast, analyzing and breaking down Ware’s season.
In the podcast, Vecenie explained how Miami is still trying in incorporate ways to bring Ware into the lineup while keeping Bam Adebayo on the floor. The duo has only shared the floor for roughly 60 minutes this season, but in that small sample size, Miami is beating opponents by 13 points per 100 possessions when both Adebyo and Ware are on the court together.
Vecenie opens up his breakdown of Ware discussing how he thought Ware was an incredible draft pick for the Heat to make at the time, crediting Ware’s ability on the court.
“If I was a Miami Heat fan, I’d be super stoked about this dude, who is as athletic, coordinated, balanced, of a big as you will find in the league, just in terms of run and jump talent.”
“I would bet on Kel’el Ware being quite good for the Miami Heat. I feel quite good about this entire situation.”
Vecenie isn’t the only one betting on Ware’s ability on the court. Earlier this morning, Fox Sports released its updated 2024-25 NBA Rookie of the Year award odds, placing Ware at the top of the list.
Despite all of the high optimism in Ware, Vecenie did point out several key areas of improvement in Ware’s game while he was breaking down Heat film.
“He would be a drastically better defender if he just did this one thing. His arms are constantly at his sides. He has a 7 foot 5 wingspan, he is 7 foot 1, he is enormous. He can take up so much space but his arms are constantly at his sides.”
Vecenie added that making that minor adjustment to Ware’s defensive approach could be a major difference maker in not just Ware’s defensive skills, but in Miami’s zone defense.
“I really really think that if Miami’s coaching staff can just get him to play with his hands out, play with his hands up, it would go such a long way toward him being a successful NBA player.
On the offensive side, Vecenie noted Ware’s shotmaking ability from beyond the arc.
“Teams don’t really credibly take him as if he’s a shooter. He does not get guarded as if he’s a shooter. He’s really going to have to prove it over the course of the next few years to NBA teams. But, I think the touch is there for this to be a continually developable skill for him.”
Kel’el Ware is currently shooting 42.6% from three this season, having knocked down an impressive 4-of-4 attempts from deep last night in Miami’s overtime win against Orlando.
Among NBA rookies who have appeared in at least 25 games, Ware’s three point percentage ranks second.
Vecenie emphasizes that Ware’s capabilities on offense makes it extremely difficult for defenders to successfully guard him.
“The reason that the three point shot in my opinion is so important is because he has a chance to be absolutely lethal in corners and as a diver to the basket and cutter. Especially if teams are going to guard him with centers.
In addition to Vecenie’s deep dive on Ware, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra commented on Ware’s incredible production over the last several weeks.
“There was just a consistent improvement each week it seemed like, every month. Then it got to the point where we needed to find more minutes for him, and we weren’t finding enough minutes just having him backup Bam [Adebyao]. This is what we talk about all the time – make us watch you, make us have to play you, make us have to play you more.”
Spoelstra gave Ware high praise for his recent development, highlighting his rapid growth in the media.
“It was a crazy turn of events for him. Being a back up for basically a month. No one is watching and within four games people are talking about Rookie of the Year. How would any of us manage that at 20 years old? Now he’s learning how to keep that humility and stay on edge and humble and continue to work for improvement.”
Across Miami’s last five games, Ware is averaging 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals. Ware started in just four of those five games.
With his recent hot stretch, on the season Ware is averaging 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds. 0.5 assists on 56.5% shooting from the field, appearing in 30 games.
Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated, part of the Full Ride Network, on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.
Looking for a place to get more Indiana content? Hoosier Illustrated has partnered with Tom Brady’s company ‘Autograph’ to streamline our coverage, so you can continue to do what you do best – follow IU sports. Use the CODE: Indianafr to get started today. For more info, you can start here.