As the Miami Heat had a blowout win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, 146-114, to get their first victory of the season, there was a certain lineup change that fans had been waiting for that could've led to the performance. With the Heat having a nearly 40-point lead at halftime, it was a historic night as head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke on starting Kel'el Ware instead of Nikola Jovic.
That had been the question all training camp and preseason, as fans were wondering who would start alongside Bam Adebayo and headline Miami's frontcourt. In the opening loss to the Orlando Magic, Spoelstra went with Jovic, but switched to Ware on Friday night, leading to the big win.
Granted, Miami's offense looked good in both games, playing at a much faster pace, which was a key goal for the team throughout the offseason. In the preseason, Spoelstra started Jovic to start, but went to Ware in the later exhibition games due to an injury.
However, Spoelstra would reveal that he was “leaning” in starting Ware in the opener, but the big man had dealt with neck spasms and an ankle injury going into the game.
“The last four days of preseason, both guys were hurt,” Spoelstra said, via the team's YouTube page. “I'm talking about Kel'el and Niko [Jovic]. They were minor injuries. But I didn't know who was going to be available that first night. I was kind of leaning toward this starting lineup going into game one. And then Kel'el had a neck spasm. Then he had a minor sprained ankle, where he didn't practice the day before the game. But he was moving great in the Orlando game.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra on utilizing Nikola Jovic, Kel'el Ware
While the Heat's captain Bam Adebayo doing his best Stephen Curry impression in lighting it up from three to start, putting Ware at the center does give Adebayo a chance to contribute more in the scoring department. Adebayo would score 18 of Miami's first 25 points to finish with 24 points on the game as Ware had 19 points and nine rebounds.
Still, Jovic was a crucial player in the rorotationscoring 20 points off the bench to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
“This is a good way to get all three of those guys the minutes that we need in Bam and Kel’el and Niko,” Spoelstra said. “But we’ll see. There might be certain games where it makes more sense to start Niko. It doesn’t really matter in my mind. I know, probably to other people it might. But those guys are going to get minutes, and we need Kel’el and Niko to grow and assume more responsibilities as the season goes on.”
Jovic would say after the game that it was a “matchup” reason for him not starting, but emphasized he doesn't mind where he plays. Fans will see how and if the starting lineup will change as the Heat takes on the New York Knicks on Sunday.
