MIAMI – With Miami Heat star center Kel'El Ware out for Tuesday's contest against the Washington Wizards, there's no doubt that fans are holding their breath wondering the severity of his injury. As the Heat enter a crucial week to solidify their position in the Eastern Conference, the team needs as much as possible to knock themselves out of the play-in tournament, as head coach Erik Spoelstra has good news on Ware.
The young center came into Tuesday's game with a right shoulder strain, an injury he suffered in Sunday's win over the Detroit Pistons, as the team cannot afford any more injuries with Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and others missing time. However, Spoelstra would tell ClutchPoints that “it feels encouraging” about Ware.
"It happened on one of those rebounds, but he was able to check everything out today. It feels encouraging," Spoelstra said before the Wizards contest. "So he'll just get treatment, and then we'll figure out when he can get back out there. I know he wants to get back out there."
Erik Spoelstra on Kel'El Ware being out tonight:
"He was going to check everything out today, it looks encouraging..." #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/0LnYC8Iwgx
- Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 10 March 2026
Ware has been on a roll since the All-Star break, recording five double-doubles and making a winning impact in every game, even playing well with Bam Adebayo on the same floor. With some attention being paid to the two-big man lineup, Ware has also gained more trust from the team when Adebayo is off the field, which hopefully the second-year player can regain once he returns.
“He's starting to come along… there's not going to be 20 and 15 every night, but his presence was felt today… and that's what I look for for him, like making the right plays, being out there a lot, running in transition, blocking shots, and that gives me time to relax,” Adebayo said after the win over the Pistons.
The Heat's Tyler Herro is also missing more time.
Another injury for the Heat is star Tyler Herro, who has been excellent since returning from a 15-game absence, but is now dealing with quadriceps soreness and has been ruled out, missing his 46th total game this season. Since he has been so impressive over the past nine games, especially last week, earning the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, should Herro step back from performing at 100 percent every game?
As for Spoelstra, he said before Tuesday's game that Miami will continue to be "responsible" with Herro.
"I mean, we'll see how things go," Spoelstra said. "He's been going through his full practices and going through his process with the coaches. He wants to be there. He understands this time of year. And, you know, he's missed so much time that he just...he wants to go for it. You know, that's the way he's wired. He sees that we're playing good basketball right now, but we'll see, we'll be responsible for it."
Erik Spoelstra talks about Tyler Herro having quadriceps pain and having to step back from his workload to prevent further injuries: #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/IDJsZuWuwG
- Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 10 March 2026
It's been a disappointing season for Herro, but there's no denying how difficult the recovery process has been, which Spoelstra was reminded of after the win over the Pistons.
"It's definitely not easy," Spoelstra said. "You see it all the time in this league. Players, they're the best in the world at what they do, and when they miss extended time, it's really tough. You hear it all the time. There's nothing like game conditioning, game rhythm. But the way he works is as close as you can get to that. Everything is a full speed rep."
At any rate, Miami will be without Ware and Herro on Tuesday, as it remains to be seen how much more time they could potentially miss.
