NBA

Kel’el Ware Is Looking Like A Steal For The Miami Heat

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Kel'el Ware, Miami Heat.

The Miami Heat are in the least envious position for an NBA team. They are the employer of the disgruntled star, Jimmy Butler, who everyone is talking about.

However, it isn’t all doom and gloom in South Beach. The Heat are a smarter organization than most. As a result, they have a solid foundation of promising young players (Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson, etc.) and two stars (Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro) to build around.

But there is one young player who’s really caught my eye when watching the Heat in recent weeks: Kel’el Ware. He’s the Heat’s top young prospect who has the best chance of helping Adebayo and Herro bridge that gap from one era to the next.

What Makes Ware Special

Ware resembles the perfect modern role player at the center position. It all starts on the defensive side of the ball. Like almost every rookie in NBA history, Ware still has a lot to learn on that end of the floor, but he’s already doing the most important thing centers are supposed to do: protect the rim.

On the season, Ware is in the 95th percentile in block rate. Meanwhile, the Heat are in the 91st percentile in opponent rim frequency — the best paint guardians are the ones who deter shots in the restricted area — when Ware is on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.

Ware is so successful as a shot-blocker is because of his size (7 feet tall with a 7-foot-4.5 wingspan) and verticality (36-inch max vertical leap, per NBA.com). These attributes also make him a dangerous rim runner and lob threat (73rd percentile roller efficiency, per Synergy). He’s a sky walker who can use his elongated arms to catch basketballs from outerspace. Look at how helpless Scoot Henderson is trying to stall Ware as he’s barreling down the lane:

And then ask yourself how on Earth anyone could have broken up this lob pass when Ware grabbed it from Heaven:

OK, so Ware is a rim-running, rim-protecting big. But there are a ton of young players who offer that skillset loadout (Dereck Lively II, Mark Williams, Walker Kessler, Jalen Duren, etc.). What makes Ware so special to distinguish himself from them?

Of all the names we just dropped, Ware has the best chance of being a true stretch five. In year one, he’s already a 38 percent 3-point shooter. His volume isn’t great (4.0 threes per 75 possessions, 25th percentile), but the fact he’s hitting threes at a proficient rate is more than you can say about most other players in his archetype. According to CraftedNBA, no player classified as a “Roll Man” is shooting a higher percentage from three than Ware.


His blend of rolling, shooting and blocking makes him seem similar to someone like Myles Turner — a good, but not “special,” role player throughout his career. Yet Turner has never been the dunker Ware is. As it stands, Ware is averaging 3.7 dunks per 36 minutes. On the flip side, Turner’s career-best rate is 1.2 dunks per 36. Ware’s ability to access one of the most effective shots in the sport gives him a higher ceiling than Turner, who’s a quality/versatile NBA big man.

Ware’s Fit with Adebayo And Herro

Great role players have the power to amplify the stars they are designated to flank, and Ware’s fit alongside Adebayo and Herro is no different.

For Herro, he gives the developing playmaker and efficient pick-and-roll ball handler (72nd percentile, per NBA.com) a worthy partner with which to tango. On defense, being able to play two rim protectors in Ware and Adebayo at the same time will let the Heat protect Herro in the same way the Cleveland Cavaliers use Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to protect Darius Garland.

Having Ware on the floor also gives Adebayo the freedom to use his greatest defensive superpower: his switchability on the perimeter. Normally, you don’t like for your center to switch screens because you don’t want them taken out of the paint. But now, the Heat don’t have to worry about the consequences of letting Adebayo flex his matchup versatility because Ware will still be there to protect the backline. During the 59 minutes Adebayo and Ware have shared on the court, the Heat have a defensive rating of 93.6, per PBP Stats.

For all his strengths, Adebayo isn’t great at getting to the rim relative to his position (24th percentile in rim frequency among centers). Not having a center who gets all the way to the rim in pick-and-roll has taken a major toll on the Heat’s overall offense. Over the last four years, they’ve placed in the bottom six in rim frequency, and they’ve had a below average offense in three of those seasons. Ware makes Adebayo’s diet of short midrange jumpers more palatable because he gives them an alternative when they are craving some closer field goal attempts.

Despite Adebayo’s best efforts, his efforts to become a true threat from downtown have been unsuccessful (27.4 percent from three). Having two low volume 3-point shooters on the floor (Adebayo is in the 15th percentile in 3-point attempts per 75) at the same time can really corrupt a team’s spacing. Right now, the Heat’s offense struggles when both of them are on the floor, posting an offensive rating of 105.1.

But Ware’s flashes from three offer hope he can become a credible enough spacer to remedy the offensive issues this twin tower tandem currently presents. On top of that, as he grows more comfortable with the ball in his hands, the Heat can incorporate more of the concepts the Cavaliers use for Mobley and Allen to counter their lack of traditional spacing.

While the fit with Adebayo and Herro isn’t perfect yet, Ware’s remarkable potential makes you feel the day the pieces of the puzzle align perfectly is soon to come. It gives the Heat another reason to be optimistic about their long-term future, despite recent controversy and their malaise of mediocrity this season.