NBA Notes: Heat, Kel’el Ware, Mavericks, Kyrie Irving, Blazers

Heat

Kel’el Ware is getting a crash course in NBA Year Two. Minutes are shrinking. Production is uneven. The result is less time on the floor.

He logged only 11 minutes and 30 seconds in a loss to the Lakers on Sunday, as relayed by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

Ware is not complaining, at least not publicly.

“I would not say it is frustrating,” he told reporters. “You have to trust the coach and the decisions that he comes up with. Then you have to be ready when your name is called.”

Before Monday’s meeting with the Clippers, the Heat were being outscored by 10 points per 100 possessions with Ware on the floor. That is the worst net rating of any rotation player on the roster, per Chiang.

Bam Adebayo, for one, is not bailing on the kid. He keeps offering encouragement and patience. And he believes the payoff can be real.

“We are not going to give up on him,” Adebayo said. “We know how great he can be. He moves the needle for this team.”

The Heat defense as a whole did not move anything on Sunday. They surrendered 130 to the Lakers. It was a second straight road loss.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said it was mostly about a lack of effort on plays they usually execute. He added they are far better defensively than they showed against Los Angeles.

Mavericks

Coach Jason Kidd hinted Kyrie Irving could return sooner than originally thought. But Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports that the timeline should still be considered fluid.

Stein also noted that seeing Anthony Davis doing a pregame workout Saturday in Mexico City was surprising. Davis remains sidelined with a low-grade left calf strain. He will be reevaluated on Tuesday when the team gets back from the road trip.

Trail Blazers

Blake Wesley has suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot and is out indefinitely, the team announced. Portland says the timeline will be determined later.

Wesley signed a one-year deal in the summer. Scoot Henderson is already shelved with a hamstring tear. So Wesley had been asked to play meaningful rotation minutes.

He appeared in each of their first six games while averaging career highs across the board, including 6.0 points and 3.2 assists in 16.3 minutes.

He spent his first three years with the Spurs before being traded to the Wizards. After that, he was bought out and signed with Portland.

With Wesley now joining the injury list, rookie Caleb Love could see more action. The undrafted guard has played in two games and is averaging 5.0 points in 9.5 minutes.

Portland is also without Damian Lillard, who is spending this entire season recovering from an Achilles tear.