Heat’s Erik Spoelstra teases more minutes for Bam Adebayo-Kel’el Ware lineup

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat taking on the Utah Jazz on Monday night, which is the final home game until after the All-Star break, the dominant win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday, 132-101, displayed something fans have been clamoring for. Besides the game showcasing Heat’s Bam Adebayo posterizing Kel’el Ware, it’s them being on the same court together that had fans excited for future rotations.

The big-man lineup with Adebayo and Ware is one that the fanbase envisioned being the future, especially after seeing it in extended minutes last season and in 19 of the first 37 games this season. However, this season has shown a regression for the two-big lineup, with Miami being outscored 7.5 points per 100 possessions in the 266 minutes played, but Sunday afternoon was a step in the right direction.

It was the first time the two played together since Jan. 6, as head coach Erik Spoelstra has gone more with a small-ball starting lineup. With under three minutes left in the contest, Spoelstra had Adebayo come in with Ware, and the game changed as the team was down eight to Washington, but leading to a 21-6 run to give Miami the lead.

“Just something that we have to continue to work on, wasn’t productive for us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get to it, and I think they’re both in a different place right now for different reasons,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints before facing Utah. “And so we were able to get to it last night, we’ll probably need it a little bit tonight, and based on their size, and then moving forward, we’ll just have to see…we’re trying to develop, you know, some lineups that work. We want some consistency there. And maximize the rotation as much as possible.”

Asked Erik Spoelstra about the two-big lineup with Bam and Kel’el and what about last night was better than the start of the season when it was rocky.

Says it’ll be used tonight: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/yqkSDEmCSc

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) February 9, 2026

Heat’s Kel’el Ware on how the two-big lineup benefits Bam Adebayo

As the Heat had come off a painful loss to the Boston Celtics before the game against the Wizards, the team needed a boost of energy, which was given by the duo of Adebayo and Ware. In total, the duo played 16 minutes together, with Miami outscoring the Wizards by 32 points, and as the lineup hadn’t been used in a long time, even Ware was surprised that Spoelstra was running it.

“I was a little bit,” Ware said in his post-game press conference, via the team’s YouTube page. “I thought I was going out. But then he was like, he had somebody else. So I was like, oh, alright.”

“It’s better for him,” Ware continued after beating the Wizards on how the lineup benefits Adebayo. “As you saw tonight, they put the smaller defender on him and had the bigger defender on me. So he was able to get to things if he wanted to. And he was able to crash. He didn’t have a big man boxing him out.”

Adebayo recorded 22 points and eight rebounds while recording an immense +44 on the floor, while Ware finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. It remains to be seen if the duo will be consistently used throughout the rest of the season, but there’s no denying the versatility it brings to Miami if Spoelstra keeps on running with it.

If there’s one thing for certain, it will be used Monday night against the Jazz, but before, the Heat are 28-26, which puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference.

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