NBA Summer League: Heat Rookies Follow Jaime Jaquez Jr. En Route to 29-Point win Over Thunder

Kel'el Ware and Pelle Larsson offered great impact in the starting lineup versus Oklahoma City on Monday evening.

Jul 10, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) and guard Pelle Larsson (9) on the bench before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Two games in, and the Miami Heat's Kel'el Ware is looking very comfortable.

28 points across 49 minutes on a 57% clip from the field paired with 15 boards, the 7-footer has found his footing early on in Summer League -- helping the Heat get out to a quick 2-0 record after dismantling the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-73 on Wednesday night.

Pelle Larsson, Miami's other draft pick who came in the No. 44 slot compared to Ware's selection at 15th overall, has been working out his kinks and becoming better adjusted throughout the Heat's first couple of contests. In game one, Larsson's 2-for-5 shooting from the field, five rebounds and three assists set him up to be more aggressive in game two against the Thunder.

Larsson ended up having a nine-point, three-rebound, two-steal performance on the night, as he and Ware followed behind Josh Christopher and Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s 23 points apiece toward the team's 29-point victory.

Ware and Larsson are going to be two guys who will get some good on-court time this season, but Ware definitively will be a consistent rotational piece in that second unit given his readiness to provide an impact in the first game of the season. A super agile center at 7-foot is a game-changer, especially when you already have one of the best defensive centers in the game in Bam Adebayo anchoring your starting core.

But Ware will get a lot of freedom and opportunity to showcase his importance off the bench, creating issues for heavy interior-centric teams and also being a force of his own on the offensive end -- as we've seen so far with two double-digit outings in each of his performances in Las Vegas.

Miami's rookies will have some chances to work with, and it appears that Ware could be an integral piece for this organization down the line.

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