greg4012 wrote:For any sickos that wanna dive deep
Just finished up watching the 2.5 hours of Ware game tape linked above. Took some scattered notes. Nothing groundbreaking. Ware's length and athleticism are real gamechangers on the court. He's thin and light in the a** and needs to add strength/weight.
When he knows where he's going and what he wants to do, he can do it in an elite way. Oftentimes, he's a step delayed or lost while processing things and that's where the lapses come from. My biggest takeaway is that I did not see any motor or attitude issues. He goes hard and seems to care. This only further validates that he has the "want to" to improve and compete on the court. THat was the hope in seeing the Heat draft him after working him out, interviewing him, and doing their due diligence. I feel even better about his attitude concerns being a bit of a false flag after watching the game tape.
OFFENSE:- His touch is legit and he looks natural getting up shots on all 3 levels of the court.
- Doesn’t really seem to have any go-to offensive moves--freestyling everything but looks comfortable/natural doing a lot of things on offense. He needs to develop 1 or 2 go-to rhythm moves where when he unexpectedly gets the ball or needs to be the source offense in a bind, he can get into his rhythm shots.
- I’m encouraged by him working as a connective passer. Showed general awareness to move the ball to open guys. I don’t expect him to ever be a creator. He’s a connective passer and a play finisher IMO. Not a blackhole with tunnel vision. Capable passer—showed range in the type of passes he made and difficulty level.
- He would work as a zone buster in middle of court; good at finding cutters; looks natural passing from the perimeter and moving the ball
- His assist numbers probably would have been better if he had capable shooters around him. Indiana's spacing was abysmal. Indiana ranked 265th in the nation in team 3pt% (32%) and 344th in team 3PA per game (out of 351 teams). Ware was constantly dealing with a lot of bodies/traffic around him in the paint on offense.
- Ware is not currently a people mover (boxing out or screening), but he seemed to be a much more willing screener than I was expecting. Between working on his technique and strength, I think he'll be a positive on that front sooner rather than later (just look at Niko's progression on that front in 1 year).
- He needs to "find work" more often when off the ball. A lot of this falls on coaching IMO and my general takeaway overall--Ware needs to have defined specialized roles early on that he can focus on executing with full confidence.
- Most of his turnovers seemed to come when the offense is stuck and he's trying to create offense (no reliable go-to move). I did not see a ton of errant passes/bad decisions. As noted, he dealt with A LOT of traffic/bodies in the paint.
- Some ball security issues arose from Ware not being strong enough in the paint. Ware would often get stripped by a 2nd or 3rd body in the paint when he brings the ball down to get into a move to try to score/create.
- A few turnovers were from moving screen calls on offense--I can dig it because it showed his desire to move people instead of slipping screens and avoiding contact.
- He showed no signs of a functional handle at Indiana. Would almost never even dribble the ball up after a rebound in transition. It seemed like he was specifically told not to do so. A few of his turnovers were the result of him putting the ball on the floor. I wouldn't bank on Ware being much of an off the dribble driver early on.
DEFENSE:- Ware's combination of length and movement ability is rare. It shows up on the court well beyond his block numbers. It impacts how drivers approach the paint and put up shots.
- From the tape I saw, Ware is not a shut down defender today. He's inconsistent with elite tools. He also clearly was not in a system or context to be a shut down defender.
- Ware didn't have good defensive teammates around him to make his job any easier. Indiana ranked 234th in defensive efficiency this season. Indiana had 4 of 5 new starters this season. The 1 returning starter was Trey Galloway (Senior). He was the worst defensive starter on last year's Indiana team that tanked 102nd defensively. The other 3 starters along Ware were 2 freshman and a Sophomore transfer (so 4 of 5 starters weren't with the program last year).
- Ware's full extended length shows up a lot and makes things difficult for the opposition. He highpoints rebounds and alters a lot of shots by extending and being a long wall defensively.
- Ware's length and coordination consistently show up defensively--including getting hands on balls that appear to be going through clean passing lanes (deflections). He's not lumbering defensively--he looks natural moving on defense even when he's out in space.
- He looks engaged defensively, but sometimes appears a step slow processing or being certain what action to take in team defense (sometimes he's ball watching too much as a result).
- Ware needs to work on his body positioning and footwork mirroring defensively. With his physical skills, there is a A LOT of upside if he can get more consistent with his footwork and use of body positioning for team defense. Indiana's defensive rotations were poor as a whole (see defensive efficiency rating).
- Ware looks good sliding his feet when guarding along the perimeter. Often times you see drivers spazz out as they expect to be able to blow by Ware off a switch but he stays with them stride for stride. Perimeter players aren't going to just walk past him. Ware was susceptible to getting put on skates with craft double moves, though.
- Ware uses his length well, but his weaker base consistently shows up when battling for positioning in the paint.
- Ware is more of a reactionary defender than he is an anticipatory defender at this point. He shows discipline by not jumping at every shot fake. He actually looked too delayed at times in reacting. I wonder if some of this was him being coached to not overreact.
- Ware is a very good shotblocker and rim deterrent. But, I can't place him in the elite category as a shotblocker.
- Ware faced Zach Edey twice this season. Edey got his against Indiana. Refs called A LOT of tick tack fouls against Ware vs Edey. Interestingly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that Edey's 3rd and 4th least efficient games of the season were in the matchup against Ware. Ware battled and made it hard for Edey on a possession by possession basis in the paint. Very encouraging IMO. He blocked Edey numerous times (more than accounted for in the official stats).
FINAL THOUGHTS:- Ware will benefit GREATLY from quality coaching, working within defined systems, NBA spacing, and operating as a supporting piece rather than the primary offensive option and defensive anchor.
- The 2 biggest boosts to Ware's impact will come from gaining functional strength and operating within a clearly defined role.
- When Ware knows where he wants to go, his athleticism and length are impressive to see on display.
- I believe his shooting touch is for real and Miami should have him working as a floor spacer from the jump.
I'm excited to watch Ware play. I believe and hope he should get some rotation minutes from the get-go as a backup center, but Miami will need to be patient with his development. I expect Ware to follow a similar trajectory to Jovic with regards to weight gain and developing the toolkit to bump with bigs (screening, boxing out, etc). I think Ware's natural physical gifts and shooting touch should allow him to slot into a low usage off-ball role from the jump where he's solely a play finisher and not hunting for his own offense. Defensively, he'll need developmental time to defend the stronger frontcourt players. He can have his greatest impact in a limited role where he "hides" on corner 3 pt shooters and doubles as the weakside rim protector.
If Ware fills out his frame to eventually be a 245+ pound big and can play confidently within his specifically designated role, then skies the limit as a force multiplier for Miami on both sides of the ball. It will take a couple years to get there. He's not a Derrick Lively level defensive player today. But he has more offensive upside IMO.
