{"id":709610,"date":"2026-04-13T10:45:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709610\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T10:45:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T10:45:33","slug":"were-last-two-games-a-test-run-for-miami-heats-kelel-ware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709610\/","title":{"rendered":"Were last two games a test run for Miami Heat&#8217;s Kel&#8217;el Ware?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Q: It only took Erik Spoelstra 80 games to get Kel\u2019el Ware where he should be, in the starting lineup. Now we\u2019re talking. \u2013 Thomas.<\/p>\n<p>A: Or not. First Kel\u2019el Ware started 32 games before these last two games. As for these last two games of the regular season,\u00a0 consider what was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/04\/09\/raptors-complete-season-sweep-with-128-114-loss-leaving-heat-staggering-at-bottom-of-play-in-pack\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fielded Friday night by the Wizards<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/04\/12\/heat-close-regular-season-with-rout-of-hawks-with-hornets-up-next-in-play-in\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sunday by the Hawks<\/a>. As much as anything, they likely stood as starts of opportunity, with Erik Spoelstra able to move Ware into the lineup at minimal risk. It would be difficult to fathom Kel\u2019el starting in the play-in against the Hornets and their 3-point shooting. That seemingly would set up as a pick-and-roll disaster with Kel\u2019el in drop coverage. (Although I\u2019m sure Kon Kneuppel would be greatly appreciative.) Yes, Spoelstra has shown an ability to innovate with his postseason approaches over the years, but with this quick of a turnaround, not sure that he can get Kel\u2019el in the right space to make it work against the Hornets\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n<p>Q: Now they\u2019ve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2026\/04\/10\/miami-heat-elevate-jahmir-young-from-two-way-deal-into-vacated-rozier-roster-spot\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">signed Jahmir Young<\/a> to a standard contract, to me, this move feels a lot like when they picked up Kendrick Nunn at the end of the 2018\u201319 season. From what you know about how the Heat operate, is that a fair comparison? Thanks. \u2013 Hubble, Miami.<\/p>\n<p>A: Don\u2019t think so. Kendrick Nunn was an outside talent the Heat coveted for much of that season before signing him from the Warriors\u2019 G League affiliate. This, when you get down to it, was more of a one-game reward for Jahmir Young\u2019s efforts with the Heat\u2019s G League team. Kendrick was signed with more of a long view. That does not necessarily appear to be the case with the Jahmir signing.<\/p>\n<p>Q: Go to Cancun. It\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<p>A: And that could be the case by Tuesday night or shortly thereafter. But as of Sunday, not a single sombrero in the Heat locker room. Instead, there was the type of confidence one typically does not see exuded by a No. 10. To a man, they have insisted they are better than that. Next they have to show it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Q: It only took Erik Spoelstra 80 games to get Kel\u2019el Ware where he should be, in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[3879,7,144,165,295,189,3880,3881,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-709610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-ask-ira","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-heat","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-heat","14":"tag-miami-heat-blog","15":"tag-miamiheat","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116396997053070767","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}