The Heat are giving No. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware an opportunity for playing time by sending him to the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. He made his G League debut on Thursday, securing 17 points, 12 rebounds, two rebounds and two steals in a win. Instead of having him bounce back and forth between the developmental team and Miami, the Heat are hoping to have him play in three-game stints for Sioux Falls, according to The Athletic’s James Jackson.
According to Jackson, the Heat are impressed by Ware’s progress and his mental fortitude as he develops and learns the system. The Heat are seeing success with two-big lineups featuring Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love, so there’s no rush to force the rookie into unfamiliar situations. He’s gotten some minutes against the likes of Nikola Jokic, but his spot in the rotation has been inconsistent.
“It’s all valuable, even when he’s with us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But the next logical thing is trying to get him some time — get him some game minutes and see how he can impact winning. But I’m encouraged by the work he’s been putting in.”
The Heat are confident Ware will join the rotation at some point, even if it’s not as soon as this season, Jackson writes.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- After missing Monday’s game to the Celtics due to knee soreness, Jimmy Butler returned for Miami on Wednesday to help them to victory. According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, Butler looked sharp in the victory, filling up the stat sheet in a blowout win over the Lakers. “He passed all the protocols, he wants to be out there, we want to get him out there and the trainers felt that he made enough progress the last two days,” Spoelstra said of getting Butler back on Wednesday. “While we were still in Boston, he was around the clock in the training room doing as much treatment as he possibly could.“
- At 10-10, the Heat have had an up-and-down and middling season. They were blown out on Monday by Boston but dominated Los Angeles on Wednesday. They set franchise records in assists (42) and tied for most threes in a game (24) in the win over the Lakers. Even through consistency questions, the Heat’s identity is coming to light, Chiang writes in a separate piece. Playing on defensive strengths and through Jimmy Butler are two major tenets for Miami, like most recent seasons.
- The Wizards are 2-18 this season, leaving head coach Brian Keefe to look for answers to help make the team more competitive. They moved Marvin Bagley II into the starting lineup on Thursday, the team relayed (Twitter link). Bagley finished with a team-high 16 points in a blowout loss. Jonas Valanciunas played 13 minutes off the bench.
- Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon, who has started all but one of his nine appearances this season, exited the game Thursday with hamstring tightness, according to the team (Twitter link). He did not return to the game. Brogdon is averaging 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field this season. The Wizards next play a back-to-back at home against the Nuggets on Saturday and Grizzlies on Sunday. Their 16th straight loss on Thursday matched a franchise low.
- Tristan Da Silva continues to play a pivotal role on the 16-8 Magic, filling in as a part-time starter while Paolo Banchero is out. Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes that Da Silva’s play is drawing praise from up and down the organization in a subscriber-only story. Da Silva, the 18th overall pick this year, is averaging 7.5 points and 3.7 assists while starting in 14 of his 20 appearances.