With the Miami Heat’s tough loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night, 106-105, the team trotted out a different starting lineup than what fans have been recently seeing, which led to middling results. As Heat star Tyler Herro got an MRI that revealed a toe contusion, which the issue made him miss the loss to Orlando, it was Kel’el Ware that got the start, though it wouldn’t be the most impactful outing.

Missing Herro, head coach Erik Spoelstra started a two-big line-up of Ware and Bam Adebayo headlining the front court to go along with Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, and Andrew Wiggins. While the Ware-Adebayo duo is one that was effective last season, it’s been worse this season, with Friday’s loss being another showcase.

As the duo played 14 minutes together against the Magic, Miami would be outscored by 14 points, with even Ware being benched with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, nowhere to be seen in the final period. Having got his first start since Nov. 24, Spoelstra called the two-big lineup “uneven,” leading to Adebayo saying that Ware has to take that as motivation.

“You take it personal, it’s one of those things where, when you hear situations like that, how your coaches feel, you take it personal and you make it work, so he has no complaints about it, or he doesn’t switch it up to where we’re the only big out there,” Adebayo said, via video by HeatCulture on X, formerly Twitter. “So obviously we’ll get on this plane. It’s 45 minutes. That’s enough time for me and Kel’el to get into some film and see how we can fix his mindset on that.”

Bam gives advice to Kel’el after Spo’s criticism about them starting:

“You take it personal. It’s one of those things where you hear situations like that how your coaches feel — you take it personal and you make it work so he has no complaints about it…”

Love this from Bam. pic.twitter.com/fLf0dGZzO9

https://twitter.com/WadexFlash/status/1997159193938202708?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1997159193938202708%7Ctwgr%5E77b6d0323dc909415f04fd2e30334d0f1ce3c749%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fheat-news-bam-adebayos-personal-message-kelel-ware-recent-uneven-play

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on the “uneven” two-big starting lineup

Though the Heat’s young center in Ware has been through a monster stretch, his season in totality has been one that is inconsistent, though there is still much to learn at 21 years old and in his second season.

Still, the long-term goal is to see Ware alongside Adebayo in the starting front court, though this season, Miami has been outscored by 10.8 points per 100 possessions in the 117 minutes they’ve played together. Spoelstra would relatively echo the same sentiments, saying that when the Heat “play bigger,” he wants it to be a “plus,” rather than a negative.

“That starting group was a little bit uneven tonight,” Spoelstra said after Friday’s loss, via video from Heat Central on X. “We’ve got to continue to work on that. I just want to see that group, when we play bigger, just for it to be a plus. So we have some work to do there. It should be a very good defensive group, but that’s a group that hasn’t been able to defend so far, and we’ve got to continue to work at that.”

Coach Spo on the double big starting lineup

“That starting group is a little uneven. I just want to see that bigger group to be a plus. We have work to do there. Should be a good defensive group but that group hasn’t been able to defend so far”

Hopefully Spo keeps giving the… https://t.co/rSnu2xjqFH pic.twitter.com/lUHmu44tG3

https://twitter.com/HeatCulture13/status/1997135082729967881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1997135082729967881%7Ctwgr%5E77b6d0323dc909415f04fd2e30334d0f1ce3c749%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fnba%2Fmiami-heat%2Fheat-news-bam-adebayos-personal-message-kelel-ware-recent-uneven-play

So far this season, Ware has averaged 11.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. Ware will continue to be a developmental piece for Miami, but there’s no denying the immense talent he has with his athleticism in a seven-foot frame, ability to shoot from deep and in the post, etc.

At any rate, Ware looks to improve with Adebayo on the floor together as the next opportunity is Saturday against the Sacramento Kings, with Herro likely out once again. After Saturday, Miami embarks on a four-game road trip.