LOS ANGELES – Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 130-120 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers:
– By his words, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has expressed confidence in the possibilities of Kel’el Ware.
– By his actions, it has been a somewhat different story, both this season, and again on Sunday night.
– This time, Ware’s initial stint was his only stint in the first half.
– And then benched in favor of Jaime Jaquez Jr. at the start of the second half.
– Again unable to keep pace with the Heat’s approach.
– An approach that frankly does not necessarily suit his skill set.
– Yes, he is a lob threat.
– But when it comes to the Heat attack-and-kick offense, Ware has not exactly been up to speed.
– Ware’s first action of Sunday night’s second half did not come until he was inserted with 69 seconds left in the third period.
– In Thursday night’s loss in San Antonio, Ware was a team-worst -20, going scoreless.
– While Spoelstra didn’t necessarily call out the Heat 2024 first-round pick after that one, he did allude to the need for his 7-footer to do more.
– As it is, the Heat’s options in the middle are limited.
– Nikola Jovic and Simone Fontecchio might be playing in power roles, but neither is a center.
– Bam Adebayo would prefer not to be a center.
– Vlad Goldin has been sent to the G League.
– So the runway is there for Ware.
– So far . . . there hasn’t been liftoff.
– (Albeit with more energy when he did return for his second stint on Sunday night.)
– This time, 12 total minutes of action.
– With Norman Powell (groin) missing his third consecutive game, the Heat again opened with a lineup of Ware, Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Pelle Larsson.
– Inactive for the Heat were Tyler Herro (ankle), Kasparas Jakucionis (groin), Goldin (G League) and Terry Rozier (not with team).
– Powell was an active scratch.
– The Lakers opened with a lineup of Jaxson Hayes, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura, with Deandre Ayton out (back spasms).
– Mitchell opened defensively on Doncic.
– With Wiggins on Reaves.
– And with that, the Lakers got off to an 8-0 start.
– And kept going from there, all the way to a 77-point first half.
– Jaquez eventually entered for Ware with 6:07 to play in the opening period and the Heat down 23-13.
– Included in that early Lakers run was the first 3-pointer with the team by Hayes, his first since Jan. 2, 2023, while with the Pelicans.
– Jaquez scored six points in his first two minutes of action.
– Jovic was second off the Heat bench.
– Followed together by Fontecchio and Dru Smith, for nine deep.
– That again left Keshad Johnson as the lone player from the standard roster not in the rotation.
– It was the 700th career regular-season game scoring in double figures for Wiggins.
– Asked pregame about Doncic, Spoelstra reflected back to watching the Slovenian national team.
– “I remember the very first time I saw him play,” Spoelstra said. “I will never, ever forget it. I went to go watch Goran Dragic in EuroBasket, so I went to their training camp. And Luka was 18 years old, and everybody in the gym was just stunned how cerebral his game was. He could just see all the reads, all the weakside rotation and just pick you apart.”
– Spoelstra was asked pregame whether his scouting has begun in his role as coach of Team USA’s 2028 Olympic team, specifically asked about Austin Reaves.
– “Not yet,” Spoelstra said, “but I really enjoyed my time working with him as an assistant coach with the World Cup team.”
– With the requisite pregame questions following about the Heat’s pace and new offense.
– “We’re just trying to build something that makes sense for this roster,” Spoelstra said.
– Spoelstra added, “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s just about trying to do something that makes sense for our team, maximize it as much as possible. And the guys have gained some confidence with that. Where it ultimately lands, the competition, these games will let us know.”
– With his steal 11 seconds into the game, the Lakers’ Smart reached 1,000 for his career.
– Udonis Haslem was among those in the Heat pregame locker room.
– With Heat President Pat Riley among those in the stands.
– The matchup was the first of 10 in November when the Heat will play 2025 playoff teams.
– The game opened the first of the Heat’s 15 back-to-back sets this season, continuing with Monday night’s game against the Clippers.
– The Dodgers’ World Series championship was commemorated during a first-quarter timeout.