Note: This story was posted hours before the Heat announced that Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jovic would not travel to Chicago because of hip injuries. Here are details on that.
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When it came time, in October, for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to select Bam Adebayo’s power rotation running mate, Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic seemed to present a difficult either/or choice.
At this point, it has become a neither/nor choice.
When Adebayo returned to the lineup Wednesday, Spoelstra returned to the smaller quintet that started twice together because Adebayo’s toe injury sidelined him for six games.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) reacts after defeating the Golden State Warriors in their NBA game at Kaseya Center on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, in downtown Miami, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
That starting five featured the 6-9 Adebayo at center, the 6-7 Andrew Wiggins playing a pseudo power forward role, 6-5 “Swiss-Army Knife” Pelle Larsson helping defend bigger players and 6-0 Davion Mitchell and 6-3 Norman Powell manning the backcourt.
That unit also left Ware coming off the bench for only the fourth time this season.
The good news: The Heat (9-6) survived an underwhelming first three quarters against a Warriors team missing Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green and rallied for a 110-96 win, with Ware delivering 16 rebounds in 19 impressive minutes off the bench.
The bad news: The Heat lost the offensive rebound battle for the ninth consecutive game and dropped to 29th in defensive rebounding percentage at 69.8, one tenth of one percentage point ahead of No. 30 Washington.
Keep in mind that the Heat grabbed 75.8% of defensive rebounds last season, with Ware and Adebayo starting together from mid-January on.
Spoelstra has suggested that the starting lineup could change, based on matchups.
“I was thinking about going bigger, but that could have given them an advantage,” he said of the Warriors.
Regardless, this looms as a difficult call all season:
Does Miami stay small with a lineup better equipped for the up-tempo style that the team has implemented this season? Or does Spoelstra give heavy minutes to the Adebayo/Ware tandem, hoping it fixes the rebounding deficit? Wins and losses figure to drive this decision.
Jovic, meanwhile, has become something of an afterthought. He’s mired in a shooting slump (29.4% on threes this season) and missed Wednesday’s game with a right hip impingement. He stands at risk of losing his rotation spot, especially after Tyler Herro returns very soon from offseason ankle injury.
Heading into Friday’s game at Chicago (8 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun), here’s how the Heat has fared this season with different power rotation partners for Adebayo:
▪ The starting group of the moment — Adebayo, Wiggins, Mitchell, Powell and Larsson — has played only 40 minutes together, but Miami has outscored teams by 23 points during those minutes, while shooting 52.9% overall and 57.1% (16 for 28) on threes. Miami has won two of three games with that lineup.
When Herro is ready to play, potentially next week, the question is whether he replaces Mitchell or Larsson with the starting group.
▪ Ware and Adebayo have started five games together, and the Heat has won three of them, but the plus-minus metrics haven’t been good.
With Ware playing alongside Adebayo, Powell, Wiggins and Mitchell, Miami has been outscored by six points in 22 minutes and has averaged 120 points per 48 minutes. By comparison, the current starting group is averaging 129.6 points per 48 minutes.
When Ware and Adebayo have played alongside Mitchell, Wiggins and Larsson (instead of Powell), Miami has been outscored by 29 points in 55 minutes — by far its worst five-man lineup.
Overall, Adebayo and Ware have been on the court together this season for the equivalent of a single game — 48 minutes. And the Heat has been outscored by 30 points in those minutes, the fifth-worst plus-minus of any Heat two-man combination.
Last season, the Heat outscored teams by 44 when they were on the court together — the team’s 20th best two-man regular season plus/minus.
The Heat, which lost by an NBA-record 122 points in a four-game sweep to Cleveland, was outscored by only five points during the 41 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together in the first round. But that series seemingly left Spoelstra rethinking the Adebayo/Ware starting tandem.
“He and Bam had some good moments together,” Spoelstra said on the eve of the start of training camp. “In the playoffs, it wasn’t good.”
But Ware has taken a major step over the past week. Not only is he averaging 10 rebounds per game (10th in the league), but his 15.0 rebounds per 36 minutes is third best, behind only Clint Capela and Steven Adams.
▪ On the eve of the Oct. 23 season opener, Jovic good-naturedly confided something during a conversation on the Heat’s practice court.
Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) dribbles around New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) during the first half of a game on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
“If we lose, and that first unit doesn’t look good, probably the one that is going to get blamed is going to be me,” he said. “The only way I keep that position and I look good next to Bam is if we win. And then people don’t ask questions and don’t try to change anything.”
Ultimately, his concerns proved prophetic. Jovic started the opening-night loss at Orlando — he had eight points, three rebounds and three turnovers – and hasn’t started since.
The Heat has been outscored by 17 points during the 20 minutes that Adebayo, Jovic, Wiggins, Powell and Mitchell have played together — the Heat’s second-worst plus-minus of all five-man groups this season.
And now Jovic is day to day with the hip injury .“It started hurting [Tuesday] in the morning before practice,” he said.
Jovic has 12 turnovers in his last six games and has shot 7 for 27 in his last four. So even when he’s healthy enough to play, a rotation spot isn’t assured.
This and that
▪ Adebayo said his toe felt “good” in his return Wednesday; he scored nine consecutive points during a key fourth-quarter stretch and closed with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 29 minutes.
“As soon as he steps on the floor, it makes us so much better,“ Wiggins said.
▪ Mitchell is now fourth in the league in assists with 110, trailing only Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and the Clippers’ James Harden.
▪ Powell, who scored 17 of his 25 in the fourth quarter against Golden State, is now 18th in the NBA in scoring average; his 25.4 points per game ranks just ahead of Anthony Edwards’ 25.2.
Among shooting guards, he’s 10th in shooting percentage (49.5) and third in three-point percentage (47.4).
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 11:49 AM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
