PORTLAND, Ore. – The Miami Heat’s five-game western swing has turned into a no-game western swing for center Kel’el Ware.
After missing the first two games of the trip – Monday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors and Tuesday night’s victory over the Sacramento Kings – Ware again was out for Thursday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center due to his hamstring strain.
The Heat then announced two hours prior to Thursday night’s tip-off that Ware would return to Miami for additional treatment, leaving him unavailable for the final two stops of the trip – Saturday night against the Utah Jazz and Sunday against the Phoenix Suns.
This five-game absence stands as Ware’s lone absence of the season.
“We’re optimistic about it,” Spoelstra said of the trip potentially being the limit of Ware’s absence. “Obviously he’ll miss the final two games of the trip.
“I don’t think it’ll be a long-term thing, but I don’t have a specific timeline on it. We’ll just wait until we get back to Miami.
“He had a good day today. They’ll work the next few days, and we expect there to be some progress.”
Spoelstra declined to say whether center Vlad Goldin, who is on a two-way contract, would be recalled from the G League.
In addition, the Heat also ruled out start point guard Davion Mitchell ahead of Thursday night’s game, due to the shoulder contusion that previously had him out for games last week against the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Spoelstra said it’s not as if he can ask or get Mitchell not to make his trademark fights through screens, with such an attempt leading to the current absence.
“You’re not having that conversation with him,” Spoelstra said with a smile. “He’s a pitbull, so he’s going to try to fight through all the screens, and that’s what makes him who he is.
“He loves to defend. He loves to take the challenge. In this modern-day NBA, you’re going to deal with 50, 60 pick-and-rolls on a nightly basis. If you’re guarding one of the main options, then you’re going to probably have 25 of those. It takes courage. It takes toughness to be able to fight through screens, and he’s been able to do that.”
This time, though, the screen got the best of Mitchell’s left shoulder.
“He’s built like a tank,” Spoelstra said. “That was kind of just a different, unfortunate collision. But he’s responding.”