Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jović Issued Challenge From Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra

Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jović Issued Challenge From Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra

Hey, welcome on in guys. Tobin here with you and thanks for checking out the channel. I hope you’re doing well out there. If you guys could subscribe, that’d be great. And I appreciate you stopping by. So, diving into this Eric Spa press conference. Eric Bolshshire gave a uh a very, very interesting media session yesterday to the reporters, Boots on the Ground in Las Vegas. And shout out to all the boys out there in Sin City. Uh you got a fight week coming up on top of it. Like, man, how did we miss going out there? This was this was stupid. We should have been out there. Although it is like 109° and I’ve been covering fights in the middle of July, late uh early August. It’s like walking through an oven. That’s why everything is underground basic or everything is undercover in Las Vegas outside of the pools which are chilled. But anyway, great uh great questions yesterday. a lot of uh a lot of ground covered by uh the media at hand. The most interesting thing was by far the Kel Wear call out because it was the number one thing on everybody’s mind like a what the hell is going on here and it was funny because yesterday I see the quotes and I didn’t see the press conference. So, like I’m seeing this I did this video with Kel where um kind of leaning giving him the benefit of the doubt and then Eric Spoler was like he’s like no benefit of the doubt. They’re very very clearly not in a place where they’re very happy with their rookie center and how he’s going about things. And it was by Eric Spoler standards pretty damn explosive. He does not do that often. And I think it was I don’t know who put this on Twitter, but it was a well put where it’s like how many times do you think it was said behind the scenes to Kelwar before Eric Spolstra took something like that public which is a very fair point. He doesn’t do this very often. He’s done it with Assan Whitide. I know there’s going to be a lot of Kell Whiteside comparisons and one thing that is lost with the you know look Hassan Whitide when he became a Max player you know was not a guy I think the organization was getting enough from as a max guy especially you know somebody who wanted to like add elements to his game become more of a shooter he wanted to be thought of himself amongst the Joel Embiids but like when Hassan was in his element as amazing rebounder, unbelievable force, blocking shots at the rim. Man, he was incredible. There’s a reason why that he’d offered him and multiple teams were going to offer him that money. We do have to mind, you know, Hassan took a journey, flamed out with the Kings, ended up in Lebanon, busted his knee, then ended up uh, you know, on a on a on a two-way with the heat or a 10day a couple 10 days with the Heat. Was putting up incredible numbers in the G- League. It was like J G-League Wilt. This is a little bit of a different situation. You know, Kell has been dealing with this moniker of motor being an issue since college. You know, this was a thing that he had at Oregon. And he gets to Indiana and his mom tells Mike Woodson like, “Do what you can to be hard on him and get him to where he And you know, to Woodson’s credit, like they turned him into a first round pick that did have some of that stuff, but obviously the talent was there. And that was Spo’s point yesterday on Kell was that, hey, the talent is there. He said the talent is there, but he said the professionalism and the consistency has to improve. and he says it is, but our standards aren’t going to change. And that’s always his answer for when he doesn’t want to go and lean into young guys and just let them ball. They kind of fell into that with Kell where he had this incredible game against Wayne and then like what are you going to do? You’re just not going to play the guy. As Bam has been saying, I’ve been begging you to play him at all times. So there is a give and take with it because you do have to have a a a line of like who’s the most talented but is also playing up to what you need him to. And very clearly he wasn’t. And the thing I found interesting about this the most yesterday was for the most part I felt like Spo was very positive about him when he was on the ESPN broadcast. But then the Miami Heat had this fourth quarter collapse that was a little reminiscent of too many of their regular season games. And very clearly you could see in coach Glass nobody was happy about it. He wasn’t happy about it and very clearly Eric Spoler wasn’t happy about it. So when we get to today if Kell wear I’m not wearing a watch but if uh if we get to today at 7:30 and first it’ll be interesting at if uh he is playing because they do have a backto-back. Maybe he doesn’t maybe he plays tomorrow but with him playing you know doing all the physical I think they want to get him right back out there. I’d imagine he is going to play, but he uh you know he made it known like it was pointed that you know he needs to get in the weight room which he is. He said on the ESPN broadcast he’s putting on 8 to 10 pounds but that things need to be consistent. And I honestly thought the most interesting thing because you know I had heard you know Alonzo said on our broadcast he said that he had been in the weight room a lot that he had seen a lot of that. Um, but this to me was almost the interesting thing is he said that he needs to um he needs to do things with more force and then he like starts slapping his hands, do things with force, do things with purpose. He’s like, uh, Malik Allen’s the best big man coach in the league. They’re spending a lot of time hitting in practice. You saw that a little bit with Hasslam. and he said uh he mentioned some interesting things where he said that he needs to learn how to be a pro, but he says that he needs to and and to add examples to it, he said he needs to be early, have great energy and count countenance, which I was like, that’s a big word for me, dog. I don’t even know if I just said it right there, which I was like, what the hell is countenance? I was like, I’ve never heard that. And I look up countenance and it says a person’s face or facial expression or support. So, I don’t know which uh I don’t know which version he’s going into it. Are you saying that he’s got bad body language and having the uh you know having the right mentality of giving the right body language, but I was like, whoa. And then he said, uh, “How you do every anything is how you do everything, and he has to get better with professionalism.” I was like, “Holy, this was I I mean, like when I saw this presser, I was like, boy, that was spicy for Spo, I was like, damn, dude. That was uh that was something. That was absolutely absolutely something.” So, I’m very curious to see how Kell responds. you know, I do think that, you know, the maturity thing of, you know, how he was taking how the game went last or the playoffs went last year. I don’t know if he got a grasp of like how uh overmatched he seemed. And this can always be a delicate dance of how um you know, losing a guy completely over it or can he respond in the right way. So, we’ll see. I mean, I I I I I hope that he responds in the right way because I think he’s been in these this boat before and I think that he has responded in the right way. Um, we’ve seen this with Nico, right, where, you know, Nico got a lot of this where he was really, really lost and, you know, to a point where I don’t think he ever felt like he was going to get the coach’s trust and maybe even some fe some feeling that they were putting him in the wrong position. And you know in that place sometimes you even need your teammates. It’s going to be interesting to see how his teammates pick him up in this regard right and I’m not saying they got to coddle him but to see like hey you know this this is all a test on like how you are because I think everybody watches Khal Wear and you’re like yeah suppose right all the talent is there. He looks like when when he’s right looks like an an unbelievable eyepopping talent. So, it’s, you know, and I’m curious to see what he’s going to say when he gets to talk. Um, I don’t know if that’s going to be I I don’t know if he’ll talk today after the game. I’d imagine that that’s going to come. Um, but also, it’s not anything I’m think. I’m sure this has been pounded into his head uh a lot. And you know, maybe if the heat if it got to the point where Spo felt like he needed to say something, then it probably had gotten to a breaking point because I do think that they really wanted him to get to Summer and uh and and impress and do things. Uh and he also mentioned this uh he mentioned on this uh this press conference that he feels like that Nicola Yovic and the way that he’s grown in his professionalism and maturity, he’s like that kind of reminds me like hey it can happen. And so it was almost like hey we dealt with some of this stuff with Yoic. I do think that, you know, Yoic was very clearly there’s some physical stuff and he’s such a unique player. Um, he doesn’t play like Kell, but has added the physicality and and Spo had talked about that he is excited to see, you know, what he brings and that he’s going he feels like he’s going to go come back looking different, stronger, and and excited. But the interesting thing that he said about Yovic, dude, was that Nicola Yovic is was heading towards where he needed to be last year before he got hurt. And I do think that he is starting to trust him as a player. And I do think that he feels like that he’s doing all the right things. Um, but the other thing that was interesting about it was in regards to Nico and Eurob basket because he’s gonna go there and play for Serbia, a team with high expectations. And Spo laid down a challenge to him. He’s like, “Hey, I want you to go there and become a real part of that rotation.” And I was like, “All right.” And all it’s been interesting because he says that he puts in a lot of work with the heat in the summer and he’s had a really good summer so far according to Spo but he likes the fact that there’s also this mix of pressure with Serbia. I mean Serbia is one of the best countries in the world with basketball right now. Not just because they have the Joker we saw in the Olympics last year but he said at the World Cup a couple years ago he called he referred to him as a token starter. I was like, Jesus, that was a that was a cutting a pretty cutting thing to say. A token starter. He says in the moments of truth, he wasn’t out there. And like, well, that is true, especially as the tournament went on. Um, I was like, god damn Spo, he he’s I mean, he was he Spo was pulling no punches yesterday. Then he said, what was he last year? He was like the ninth eighth guy, eighth, ninth guy. Um, you know, he wasn’t getting the real minutes. And he says, “Make that Hall of Fame coach earn your trust. That coach who is really demanding.” I don’t think Spo’s name. I don’t even know if I know how to say it. Uh, Svetzy Pesich, I think is how you say it. I apologize I’m butchering that for all our Serbian viewers out there. I know we do have those. Svetzy Pesich. I think I did better there, but I’m not too confident. Maybe that’s why Coach Spo doesn’t go with his name. But coach Pesich um Spo was basically saying, “Hey, like go be a part of the winning over there.” And while last year like he did give him a ton of credit for Nico because Nico, remember Nico broke his ankle last summer and made his way available to uh made his way available to play for that team. And Spo did give Nico a lot of credit for that. And I do think we saw a big jump for Nico this year in in supposed trust of him. But I think uh that was an interesting an interesting thing to lay down to his uh to his now third year. Fourth year. Is it fourth year? Fourth year. How the hell is Nicole Yovic in his fourth year? That’s crazy, man. Time flies, dude. This kid’s been here for four years now. crazy. Anyway, Nico 22 years old, like, yeah, this is a big year and I think the Miami Heat certainly want to lean into Nico being as unique a player that he is and Spo, but having faith in Nico and that Nico has taken a lot of that stuff. You know, there was a lot of times Nico was down. And Nico said this last year and one of the things that I really, you know, he is an accountable dude and he’s like, I have let this team down. I have not lived up to my end of the bargain, but I have grown up a lot. I’ve gone from a boy to a man and I want to I want to be part of the winning here. So, I I He has not shelled up from that stuff. And maybe there’s been tough times where he’s like, you know, he got the backing from Jimmy. Jimmy was, I mean, to be fair, really great about that with Nico. Really took care of him. um believed in his skill and I am I’m very curious. I’m I’m so Everybody who watches this channel knows I love Nicolola Yoic. Um and I and I I I really feel like he just brings such an interesting dynamic to this team. So we’ll see. I can’t wait for Eurob basket this year between him, Fonteio, Pella. Continue to seeing the summer of Pella. I don’t know what Sweden’s chances are. Like unless Gustaf Forsling is going to play for play uh play play the three for them. I don’t know what they’re going to do uh as far as like actual damage in Euro basket. But I I definitely definitely definitely think that this is a uh a great opportunity for Yovic because I don’t know I don’t know if Joker’s I don’t think I don’t know if Joker’s playing. I believe I believe Luca’s playing. Um, let me see. Is Nicola Joic playing in Euro Basket? It says the last thing I have is it’s not definitively confirmed. Uh, let’s see. Last thing I got is in May. Okay, I got Boddon Bogdanovich has optimism that Jokic Jokic will play for Euro Basket. So, I’m not positive. The last thing will he’s Yeah, I guess it’s not confirmed yet. It’ll probably have a bit and so like it’ll have a big impact on obviously if Joker’s out there it may have an impact on Yoic’s minute but I think suppose point if he’s out there he’s not out there be a big part of it and uh I’m I’m I’m excited to see how that happens and quite frankly I’m excited for either Sunday or Monday’s game to see what never there’s going to be never everybody’s eyeballs on on on how Keller attacks the glass and the thing I think that The Heat want to make is like look and I apologize for my my voice today too. The Heat’s last point on it is look even if Kell goes out there and puts up a double double. It’s can you do it again? Can you do it again? It’s not going to be like that one performance against the G-Leaguers against of of summer league are going to quiet anything. They need it to be a everyday type of thing. But I do think that with what the summer’s been, Coach Spo felt like we had hit a crossroads where he needed to say something about it publicly. So, we’ll see how Kell responds.

Tobin reacts to Erik Spoelstra’s full comments about Kel’el Ware. How will Heat big man respond to the callout from Spo? Plus Spoelstra gave his thoughts on Nikola Jović’s summer and upcoming appearance in Eurobasket 2025. Can Niko complete Spo’s task?
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