As the Miami Heat got a huge win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, it featured many storylines to watch for the rest of the season, like the starting rotation that will be used for now and a standout performance from Kel'el Ware. While the Heat came into the game with a five-game losing streak, a huge part of snapping it was Ware's contributions off the bench, helped by meetings with head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Ware would come off the bench and record his highest plus/minus of the season with a +32 to go along with 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and a block against the Cavs, whom he's struggled against in his young career thus far. The second-year center had been in the midst of a stretch of rough games on both sides of the ball, as a meeting with Spoelstra on Tuesday sparked what needed to change.
“His response yesterday, I met with him and had a productive film session, where he wanted to get better, and he had a very good practice,” Spoelstra said. “And then it carried over today. It doesn’t guarantee that it will, but he was very good in that second half. Big, protecting the rim and rebounding, which is what we needed to do to finish off our defense.”
“We just talk about it and try to get an understanding of each other just to try to get how we can make it work,” Ware said.
Heat's Kel'el Ware looks to finish final nine games of season strong
There's no denying how key Ware is to the Heat coming off the bench, giving the team much-needed size with a smaller starting lineup with Bam Adebayo at the five. However, the results from Ware have been up-and-down, showing flashes of greatness or times of questionable effort, with Wednesday being firmly with the former.
“Let’s do that more often,” Spoelstra said. “He’s taking it to heart; he wants it right now.”
Consequently, Spoelstra would emphasize Ware's willingness to improve as he hopes it continues in Miami's rematch against the Cavs on Friday night.
