The preseason opener for the Miami Heat is probably considered a success for the most part. Miami had a huge halftime lead while starters were still in the game before the Heat’s reserves didn’t do their part and allowed Orlando to win the game outright.

Perhaps the most notable component from the game was Erik Spoelstra’s starting lineup that included newly extended Nikola Jovic.

But it was the play of someone Spoelstra maligned during the summer that could give Miami something to think about moving forward.

Kel’el Ware looks solid in preseason opener

Miami’s starting lineup was:

• Norman Powell
• Andrew Wiggins
• Jamie Jaquez Jr.
• Nikola Jovic
• Bam Adebayo

It’s notable since, towards the end of last year, Miami was starting to use Adebayo at the 4 with Kel’el Ware as the center, including all of the playoffs.

Ware did wind up playing 17 minutes on Saturday night compared to the 12 minutes Adebayo and Jovic played, and Ware looked good during his time on the court.

He was 4/10 shooting for ten points, he knocked down a three, had a steal, and he was one rebound shy of a double-double. Ware was also +2 on the night in +/-.

It’s a 180-degree turnaround from this summer, when Ware struggled at times during Summer League and drew the ire of Spolestra, who teed off on Ware back in July:

“The professionalism inconsistency has to improve, and it is. Our standards are not going to change. Our expectations of how fast we want that to improve for him are not going to change. But he’s got to get better at it. He has to take ownership of it. The other stuff will come along with that. That leads into the weight room. Your professionalism, consistency, and your approach every single day.”

What Miami needs to figure out is how to maximize the Jovic/Adebayo pairing, especially if Ware continues to look solid this preseason. Jovic looked solid himself on the offensive side of play, and Heat fans will be happy with his debut.

But as we also noted earlier this week, the one main concern the Jovic/Adebayo pairing brings is the overall lack of rim protection.

Jovic did have a block on Saturday, an area Miami has to improve this season after finishing dead last in the NBA in blocks last year and 3rd to last in opponent FG inside six feet.

We’ll see how the rotations shake out as preseason marches along, but if Ware continues to play well, it’s a good problem for Miami to have.