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As the Miami Heat lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the first round NBA Playoff series, there will be conversation around the reasons thag led to the 121-100 defeat. While the Heat's playoff series against the Cavs is far from over, one aspect that looks to be better is rookie Kel'el Ware who struggled in his first career postseason game, not including the play-in tournament.
Ware once again got the start, though he would finish with only two points on making just one of his two attempts from the field to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. He would be held scoreless in the first half where the one make came in the third quarter.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would say after the game that it's the “life of a young player” to go through the motions, especially in a new environment such as the playoffs, where he is “being fed through a fire hose.”
“This is the life of a young player,” Spoelstra said via video from the team and posted by Naveen Ganglani on X, formerly Twitter. “You're being fed through a fire hose, but he's important to what we do. He'll get to work. That's the thing I really respect about Kel'el. And the areas that he's gotten a lot better, we're going to need in this series.”
🎙️ Full Erik Spoelstra postgame interview after Game 1 vs. Cleveland:
“They outworked us in the little things — loose balls, extra possessions, momentum plays. We’ll get to work and figure it out.”
📽️: Miami Heat, watch the full breakdown below ⬇️#HEATCulture #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/aHJnwcyO2y
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) April 21, 2025
Heat's Bam Adebayo confident in “bounce back” for Kel'el Ware
The Heat rookie center has been impressive in his first year in the NBA, where he became a mainstay in the starting lineup towards the second half of the regular season. It isn't a total surprise to see a rookie struggle in his first playoff game, as the same sentiment was echoed by frontcourt teammate Bam Adebayo, who's confident that “he'll bounce back.”
“I mean, he has to go through it. He's young. But the thing about it is, we'll know he'll bounce back,” Adebayo said as he finished with 24 points on 10 for 22 shooting from the field with nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. “He's one of those rookies where he retains a lot of information very well, and we need him. So, from that standpoint, understand we get two days to lock in, and he gets to refocus. And he's already got that first game out of the way, and now we're going to this game Wednesday, with a different mindset.”
🎙️ Full postgame interviews from Tyler Herro & Bam Adebayo after Game 1:
“We lacked communication. Turnovers. Rebounding. Physicality. We’ll clean it up — and be better for Game 2.”
📽️ Watch the full breakdown below ⬇️ #HEATCulture #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/f7tVnx97EI
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) April 21, 2025
How “huge” the playoff experience is for Heat's Kel'el Ware
Ware's outing was far from the reason the team lost on Sunday night, but he could be a huge X-factor if he can come alive in the series, though his plate is full on both sides. Besides being a force on offense, he has to guard bigs on Cleveland like Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
Still, the playoff experience for Ware will be “huge” in the long-term as Heat star guard Tyler Herro said as the rookie figures to be a crucial piece to the future of the team.
“It's huge, I think obviously, Kel'el being in that environment going through his very first playoff game probably hit him, surprised him a little bit, but he'll be better,” Herro said as he had 21 points in Game 1. “And he'll continue to improve and figure out what works in any series. And obviously we need him big time in order to compete in the series.”
The Heat look to even the series at a game apiece with Game 2 in Cleveland on Wednesday night.
