Miami Heat's Kel'el Ware Shows Defensive Abilities In Blowout Loss to Golden State

First-round pick shows his ability to protect the rim and grab rebounds in summer league debut.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kel'el Ware poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It was not too tough to find the lone bright spot in the 105-66 summer league loss to the Golden State Warriors Saturday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

It could be summed up in two words.

Kel'el Ware.

The rookie started out slow offensively. He finished 5 of 12 from the floor, missing all three of his attempts from the 3-point line.

However, he did finish with five blocks and six rebounds.

"First game jitters. It definitely felt great to be in a game situation. We are always working on my shot blocking," Ware said. . "So, I feel like the defense was always there. My shot wasn't falling today, So I wanted my defense to shine more than my offense."

Ware added, "Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra} is going to want me to rebound on the defensive end and I feel like I did that."

Ware started the game off offensively making his first basket, but then missed the next seven. He did rally at the end to score 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Heat summer league coach Dan Bisaccio was pleased with the performance of the new center from Indiana.

"Five blocks. For Kel'el that's something that we knew he can do," Bisaccio said. "We were definitely emphasizing that a lot, his rim protection. We want him going and contesting everything he can.

"There were a lot of positives that we're going to take away from this game for him."

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com.

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