Kel’el Ware Continuing Hot Streak for Miami Heat

On Sunday night, Miami rookie Kel'el Ware continued to put the league on notice with one of the best overall performances of his young career.

It wasn’t the most statistically eye-popping game of his career — just 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and a block. But given Ware’s competition and the early signs of some new skills, it was highly encouraging for the away team.

Across 37 minutes, Ware shot 6-for-10 overall in matchup up with Milwaukee’s talented front court duo of former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the ever-versatile Brook Lopez. He wasn’t able to limit those two offensively much, but a rookie standing toe-to-toe with veterans in any capacity is noteworthy.

Ware’s four assists were the highlight of his performance. Throughout his collegiate and short professional career, he’s shown the ability to play-make in moderation, but never with true consistency. Each game he’s able to build on that aspect of his game is a massive win for the Heat as a whole.

While a four-assist game is far from him becoming any sort of true play-maker, he’s only likely to get better as time goes on.

On the season, Ware’s now averaging 8.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 52% overall and 35% from beyond the arc. He’s still playing in just 19 minutes per game on the year, but has seen that boost to 29.4 since earning the starting job 13 games ago.

Ware is hovering on the brink of a Rookie of the Year case, but needs to make his push soon with the home stretch happening now. Drafted at No. 15 in the most recent draft, Ware has already blown expectations out of the water in Year 1, and is set to be the team's center for the forseeable future.