The Heat hope Kel’el Ware continues to thrive as the Nets come to town.

Kel’el Ware has had its ups and downs. However, the number of Miami Heat’s 2024 first round picks has been rapidly increasing recently.

The Heat will be hoping for more production from the 7-footer Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Heat, who have won four of their last six games, won 115-105 over Houston on Saturday. Ware played the entire fourth quarter and had 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

“The big dude brought it today,” Heat star Bam Adebayo said of Ware, who has averaged 12.5 points and 11.0 rebounds over the past eight games. “(Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) challenged him on a walkthrough and (Ware) responded. We need him to maintain that consistent mindset.”

The 6-foot-10 Adebayo said Spoelstra enjoys pairing with Ware in double-big lineups.

“(Ware) listens to me.” Adebayo said. “Sometimes he ignores the ‘spoilers.’ But I invested a lot of money in (Ware) all summer (from 6 a.m. workouts).

“He needs to make time, but I feel like he gets better with me.”

The Heat, who are 18-11 at home, are playing without All-Star Norman Powell (groin). Powell leads Miami with 22.5 points per game.

With Powell sidelined Saturday, Miami returned Tyler Herro to the starting lineup. This is Eero’s first start since the 15th of last month, as he is receiving treatment for a rib fracture. Eero, who played in 16 games this season, ranks second on the team in scoring average (21.0 points).

Meanwhile, the Nets are 7-23 on the road and sit third-from-bottom in the overall league standings.

The Nets lost 106-102 at home to Cleveland on Sunday afternoon. It was Brooklyn’s eighth straight loss and the NBA’s longest losing streak.

Brooklyn, which is already coming off a three-game losing season, is one of several teams vying for better draft lottery odds for a better shot at a loaded class that should include Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.

So maybe that gives Nets fans some hope. However, the Nets currently have one of the least talented rosters in the league.

The exception to this is Michael Porter Jr., who leads the Nets in scoring with a career-high average of 24.5 points.

But Porter has struggled recently after a strong start, averaging 26.1 points in his first 28 games. In the nine games prior to Sunday, Porter had averaged 19.6 points. He broke out of that rut Sunday by scoring 26 points against the Cavs.

Porter told the New York Post about his statistical decline, saying it was “feel and timing.” “I haven’t felt this way about my shots as long as I remember.

“If you don’t play for two or three days, you can really lose your senses.”

According to him, Porter missed two games before the All-Star break due to the death of his grandmother. Then, I was unable to participate in the All-Star Game, so I sat down a bit more.

“I was paying the price (for not getting in the gym),” Porter said.

–Field level media