Erik Spoelstra’s Blunt Message to Kel’el Ware: Stack the Right Way
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is known for his demanding standards. He has built a legendary reputation on extracting maximum effort and consistency from every player on his roster.
On Tuesday night, after another game where rookie center Kel’el Ware did not see the floor in the second half, Spoelstra offered a brutally honest assessment of why the first-round pick has fallen out of the rotation.
“With Kel’el I know that’s a lightning rod topic,” Spoelstra began, acknowledging the public intrigue around the 7-footer’s lack of minutes. “He needs to get back where he was 7/8 weeks ago where I felt he was stacking good days. He’s stacking days in the wrong direction now.”
The phrase “stacking days” is pure Spoelstra. It’s the Heat culture in a nutshell. It means building consistent, positive habits in practice, film study, and preparation day after day after day. For Ware, who showed tantalizing potential earlier in the season with his athleticism and shot-blocking.
Spoelstra didn’t stop there. He diagnosed a common, if unspoken, affliction that plagues young players struggling for a role.
“I get it with young players you sometime subconsciously play poorly to say ‘hey I’ll play poorly until you give me the minutes I think I deserve,'” Spoelstra explained. “That’s not how this works.”
This psychological insight cuts to the core of the challenge. For a rookie drafted 15th overall, the expectation is to contribute. When those minutes don’t come, frustration mounts.
Spoelstra is accusing Ware of falling into a self-defeating cycle: poor practice effort leading to no playing time, leading to more frustration and worse effort. It’s a vicious circle Spoelstra has seen before and has zero patience for.
Ware’s season numbers tell the story of a player who flashes but hasn’t found a groove. He’s averaging just 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game, shooting 48% from the field. More telling is his sporadic availability; he has 17 “Did Not Play Coach’s Decision” notations already.
When he has played, the glimpses are there a thunderous dunk, a weak-side block but they’re surrounded by defensive lapses and a lack of the relentless motor Spoelstra demands.
The Heat’s system is not built for raw talent alone. It is built for players like Bam Adebayo, who entered the league as a raw athlete and transformed into an All-NBA defender and offensive hub through obsessive work.
It is built for undrafted players like Haywood Highsmith, who carved out a crucial role solely with defensive toughness and smart play. Spoelstra’s message to Ware is clear: your draft pedigree means nothing here. Your entitlement to minutes is a fantasy.
Ware is at a career crossroads just months into it. He can either internalize Spoelstra’s tough love a coach taking the time to publicly outline the path back to the court is, in a way, an investment or he can become another talented “what if.”
History shows Spoelstra’s method works. Players who buy in, like a young Justise Winslow or more recently Caleb Martin, find roles and thrive. Those who resist find themselves out of the league.
For now, Kel’el Ware’s journey is about the practice gym, the weight room, and the film session. His game is not in the second half of NBA contests; it’s in the unglamorous work of “stacking days.” Spoelstra has given him the blueprint. The ball, as always in Miami, is in the player’s court.