Norman Powell's scoring is not enough to lead the Heat past the Celtics

Player report card for Miami vs Boston

Jan 15, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) brings the ball up court against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

We are officially at the halfway point of the Miami Heat’s regular season. The Heat sit at 21 – 20 after an atrocious 4th quarter collapse against the Boston Celtics to lose 114 – 119.  This loss keeps the Heat in 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings and is once again evidence the Heat struggle to play a complete game against a team with a winning record.

Kel’el Ware – Grade: D

Dec 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'El Ware (7) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Kel’el Ware did not have an impactful game against the Celtics. The most worrying statistic about his night was that he played only 9 minutes. He played such few minutes for a couple of reasons.

First, I thought his effort could have been better. Yes, he did grab 5 rebounds in his limited minutes, but other than that he made no impact on the game. He did not have the energy level to cause havoc on either end of the court.

Secondly, his shot selection was poor in this game. I felt he settle too much for taking threes versus finding ways to use his size. He had 5 field goal attempts in the game and 4 game from three. Ware needs to start from the inside then work his way out and stop settling for the three so much. Ware finished the game with 3 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists and 1 turnover.

Norman Powell – Grade: A-

Jan 13, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) reacts after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Norman Powell delivered consistent buckets all night long for the Heat. Powell continues to show why he should be selected to make the NBA All-Star team for the first time in his career. Even on a game where his three ball was not falling, he still found a way to deliver points in an efficient way.

He rarely settles on his shot attempts, and he consistently finds the best looks possible. He is a 3 level scorer that gives the Heat a true offensive threat to pair with Tyler Herro. Powell once again showed off his savviness by getting to the line 5 times and he was perfect from the line.

He was an excellent scorer, but I would like him to be more active in rebounding when the team is struggling to pull own boards. Powell finished the game with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Bam Adebayo – Grade: B

Jan 15, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) defends Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Bam Adebayo was coming off one of his best games of the season and backed it up with another solid night. He started the game missing his first few shots but then proceeded to dominate the first quarter. Adebayo was the biggest reason Miami was able to create their huge first quarter lead.

Even though he finished the game just 8/19 from the field, he was still able to score 22 points. That as because he shot 3/7 from the three point line and also converted several “and 1” attempts. He looks much more confident in his offensive abilities the past two contest.

Adebayo did an excellent job at finding the open teammate and took care of the ball excellently, generating 5 assists to just 1 turnover. He made an overall impact on the game and finished with a team high +/- of +13.