MIAMI – Though the Miami Heat are in a recent funk heading into Tuesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors, having lost seven of the team’s last eight games, there has been one bright spot in the progress of Kel’el Ware. As the Heat’s massive slump continued in the 135-127 loss to the New York Knicks, it was another great outing from Ware, as head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on the attention he’s getting from the team.
There’s no denying Ware’s talent, as while it’s been an up-and-down journey to get better, as it is for a lot of young players, the 22-year-old has impressed recently. In the last three games, Ware has averaged 24.7 points and 15 rebounds per game while shooting 71 percent from the field, and arguably most impressively, 75 percent from three-point range, making 12 of 16 from deep.
Besides Spoelstra, assistant coach Malik Allen has been tasked with working closely with Ware in instilling the physical and mental traits that have led to this stretch, with the head coach talking about their relationship.
“I just think Malik is one of the most underrated coaches in this league,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “He has an amazing way of meeting players where they are and then pushing them to another level. He’s such a consistent mentor, but also he backs it up with experience as a player, and then coaching acumen, and then this magical area of just knowing how to communicate it and connect, you know, with players.”
“They do have a great relationship, and sometimes it’s tough love,” Spoelstra continued. “You know, you guys think I’m tough on Kel’el. I love it. But then also, Malik is also the first one to put his arm around and say, ‘Let’s go grab some lunch. I just love watching their dynamic.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about what’s changed for Kel’el Ware.
Plus, asked him about the relationship with assistant Malik Allen, who Spo says is one of the most underrated coaches.
“It’s tough love, you guys think I’m tough on Kel’el…”
Full response w/ great insight: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/tD22t5keqn
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 23, 2025
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra on Kel’el Ware finding consistency
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Ware’s display against the Knicks for the Heat on Sunday was a historic one, as despite the loss, he would record a career-high 28 points to go along with 19 rebounds while making five three-pointers, the first to ever have that statline with the franchise. In fact, Ware has been one of the best three-point shooting big men, making 36 three-pointers out of 75 attempts (48 percent), which ranks second in the NBA with players that have attempted at least 70 from that range.
Maybe even more importantly for Miami, Ware’s rebounding has also improved vastly, entering Tuesday’s game with the fourth-best rebounding percentage at 19 percent, which is the percentage of available rebounds on the court defensively. Spoelstra spoke more about what he’s seeing from the Indiana product and the hope to see consistency.
“I just think some of these things happen,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “You know, I think he had been stacking some good days. And you do that long enough, eventually you start to get some results. You know, his practice sessions were good, film sessions, shootarounds were good, I’m talking about like six weeks ago, and it wasn’t necessarily translating to consistency, and he’s still young. So it’s not always going to be linear. There’s going to be some nonlinear jumps.”
“I want there to be some surprises, not only with Kel’el but with other guys,” Spoelstra continued. “He’s handling it appropriately, and he’s being held accountable to winning things. It’s not like, doesn’t have to be like, a negative thing. We all want the same thing, we want a better result. We want growth, you know, faster. I want him to be like, he’s 28, and that’s not realistic, and that a little bit of impatience is good, as long as everybody handles it appropriately. But his play, obviously, is improving, and I want to fuel that.”
At any rate, Ware looks to keep improving as the season goes on, hopefully with the Heat winning games, as the team has a 15-14 record heading into Tuesday’s game against the Raptors.