BLAME GAME: Is Tyler Herro at FAULT for Miami Heat’s NBA Cup Exit & Losing Streak? | Heat Podcast

BLAME GAME: Is Tyler Herro at FAULT for Miami Heat’s NBA Cup Exit & Losing Streak? | Heat Podcast

Noise is getting louder about this heat team and how good or bad they actually are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. How much are Bamabio and Tyler Hero really the blame? That’s what we’re about to find out. [Music] You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat. your daily podcast on the Miami Heat, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. Whether you’re tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks for making us your first listen every day. Join the Cookie Gang. Become an Everydayer. That means subscribing, tuning in every day, Monday through Friday, and signing up for the Everydayer Club with the link in the show notes. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. I’m Wes Goldberg, host of Locked on NBA Daily and Real GM radio. I’m here with David Ramil. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day. And we have a bunch to get to today. Uh but David, things not going awesome for the Heat right now. Who have lost four straight games. They were eliminated from the NBA Cup on Tuesday night. Uh they started at 11 and six, but since then they have fallen to uh 14 and 11 on the season. And I just want to jump right into the meat of this thing. A lot of people are pointing to Tyler Herro’s return as the reason. Fans are uh Brian Winhorse today on his podcast said that since Tyler Herro’s return, guys like Kel Wear and Norm Powell or not Norm Palhakas Jr. have sort of lost their mojo. Dan Leard is saying this is a disastrous scenario for Tyler Herro. So, there’s a lot of people from listeners of this show, um, you know, national people who are starting to point to Tyler Herro as the inflection point of a season that was going great and since then isn’t going so great. And even David, you brought it up on the postgame show after that loss to the Magic. You asked whether or not it was time to start bringing Tyler Herro off the bench. Uh, there’s a lot to get to here and I thought we could do a whole episode just sort of exploring whether or not Tyler Herro is to blame. Um, but I I guess I’ll just ask you bluntly. Is Tyler Hero to blame? I don’t think so. I I don’t think it’s just him. We We keep making the same point, but I think it bears repeating. It It is. And I like the phrase you used, an inflection point. You know, things tend to started to go in the wrong direction once Tyler returned. And we knew there was always going to be an adjustment. Uh, we tend to think of it as, oh, how’s Tyler going to fit in? And I think that was a question a lot of us had before his return is how was he going to fit into this offense because the offense was running at such a high level and it was working so well. And so the idea is well knowing what we do of Tyler and his career was he going to be able to fit into that brand of offense and play at the level that we were accustomed to seeing him and at the level that we’ve seen this team operate over the first few weeks of the season without him in the lineup. So I think that’s a big thing to consider. Also the flip side of that is how does the rest of the team adjust and maybe that’s a point that I personally didn’t give enough thought to because win comment about losing Mojo does seem to kind of align with where this team has gone you know from that four what is it 11 and six start that you mentioned then three of five over their next eight games that’s unfortunate because it’s just happened to coincide with Tyler’s return but you can see that there is an impact and and that seems like it it makes perfect sense. You’re trying to incorporate an all-star player who averages 24 points per game, etc. into this offense, but it’s going to have a trickle down effect. It’s not just about whether or not he can put up similar numbers, which he hasn’t. But it’s also how that kind of impacts everybody else because he is so ball dominant because he’s going to take up a big chunk of the offense. How is that going to affect Norm Powell? How does it affect Haime Hakees? How does it affect the rest of the bench? And we talked about in last episode, Khil Wear having to be kind of sent back to the bench because once you welcome Tyler back, it forces Eric Spolster to make different lineup rotations and how do you incorporate your star player in Tyler and then have to, you know, find ways for other players to make impact an impact off the bench or in a different type of rotation. So, I don’t think he’s necessarily to blame, but I would be ignorant to not point out that I I think it is going to have a long a long sweeping effect on everybody on this roster. So, the team does look worse. It’s not tied directly to him, but he has made an impact on this team once he returned because again, players are going to have to learn to adjust to playing alongside Hero just as he’s making the adjustment to play alongside them in this new contextualized offense from the Miami Heat. So, it it’s just uh I think it’s an unfair discussion to say he’s necessarily to blame. It’s just the way it’s aligned and coincided that his return has brought about these changes that look like this team are is worse than what we had seen them earlier in the season. And to your point, we can’t ignore that right now. It’s one thing happens, another thing happens. Now, our job here is to determine whether or not that’s casual or coincidental. And I I’m going to say this right up at the top. I know that my I know what my role here here is. I I understand I’m the Tyler Hero apologist. I get it. That’s I have I have built that brand up for myself. Um and I I really I did a deep dive into the numbers, a lot of the advanced metrics, a lot of the onoff stuff and I really I wanted to do it with an open mind. And I I I I’m curious like what is going on with this Heat team? And is it because Tyler Herro came back? Because if it is, then there’s some major questions that the Heat have to answer. Number one, is Tyler Herro a part of what we want to do going forward. Number two, do we want to pay him? And number three, if the answer to both of those things is no, right? Then what are we doing with him? And how are we and who are we trading them to? Because that’s the only ne that’s the next option. And um but before I think we can even kind of get to that, you have to understand and we and the front office can kind of get to that. I think the exercise that I am doing I think is what the front office is probably trying to do right now too is okay how much is Tal here to blame versus this is a small sample size I think that’s worth uh talking about and repeating over and over again like let’s not get let’s not blow anything out of proportion too much here but it is jarring how because of how well the team was playing versus how poorly they’re playing in the first four game losing the first three-game losing streak and the first four-game losing streak of the season coinciding with his return. Now I will say this he wasn’t in two of those games. Yeah, he didn’t play two of those games and nobody was blaming Tyler Herro for losses in Orlando or in Sacramento before the NBA Cup loss in Orlando because Tyler Hero didn’t play in those games. So, that’s worth repeating as well. But, um, when I looked at the numbers, I started here just looking at the schedule that the Heat have played. They have played a tough schedule all season long, but the defenses that they’ve played since Tyler Herro has come back in the games that he’s played in, seventh in defensive rating, 22nd in defensive rating, fourth, 25th, 7th, and fifth. They won the games against those bottom ranked defenses, but other than that, they had to play the seventh ranked defense, the fourth ranked defense, the seventh ranked defense, and the fifth ranked defense. And they only won one of those games. Those are tough defenses, but again, the Heat have played a tough schedule all season long and they managed to win a lot of those games. So, I’m like, “Okay, so is that really an excuse, you know?” Mhm. So, then I went into the shooting numbers and this to me was really interesting, David, and and I apologize in advance because I’m I’m about to read a bunch of numbers. So, people listening and watching, don’t let your eyes glaze over because I think this is a really important point. In terms of ruining Haime’s mojo, 57 minutes with Tyler Hiro on the court, Haime’s shooting 67% at the rim. In the 644 minutes he played without Tyler Herro, he was scoring 76% at the rim. And I’m looking specifically at the rim numbers and the percentages because this to me is really instructive. Talero is not imp impacting whether or not you’re making your layups or not. Maybe he’s maybe he’s attemp he’s a factor in how many layups you get, but he’s not a factor in if you’re making the ones you already have. And so I wanted to start there. So Haime without hero is shooting 76% at the rim with him in 57 minutes, very small sample size, 67%. Telehero has nothing to do with that. That’s just random noise and maybe a groin injury for Haimeme. DaVon Mitchell 135 minutes with hero 45% at the rim. Nearly 600 minutes without hero 69% at the rim. That is a major drop off. Andrew Wiggins rim percent 115 minutes with hero 56%. 600 minutes without Tyler Hero 67%. An 11% drop with hero on the court at the rim. Norman Pal at the rim with Hero 60%. still pretty good without hero 66%. It was better. Talhiro has nothing to do with players finishing their layups. And I look at those numbers and I say, well then how is it that everybody is worse at finishing with layups when they’re on the court with Tyler Hero? And I think part of this to me is more coincidental. Don’t focus on the numbers with Hero. Focus on the numbers without Hero. 76% 69% 67% 66%. Those are crazy efficiency numbers. The heat were finishing over their head and I think they’ve cooled down and come back down to earth either and it just so happens that happened with Tyler Hero’s return but also against some of these really good defenses. So, I’m I was trying to figure out what the reasoning behind this was, and that’s the only I can’t I couldn’t find a a causal tissue between Tallah’s return and all of a sudden guys not finishing layups as well. But wait, I want your response after the break. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Game time. Listen, the World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. And that’s why the Game Time app is clutch. It finally gives fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. With Game Time, you can track price drops in real time. 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We’ll be right back. [Music] Thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Locked on the number one sports podcast network. You already live your team every day. Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the Everyday Club today and get Locked on Heat with no interruptions. Members only Discord access and more. All for just $5 a month or $50 a year. Go to lockedonheat.supcast.com supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. David, your reaction to the numbers I I shared with you before the break makes perfect sense. I I understand the the fact that you’re facing tougher defense and and not just tougher defense, even those more poorest defenses probably have a lot more film to scout and to prepare for a heat offense that I think took everybody off guard. Like it didn’t just take us as people who cover this team and knew even going into the season that they were going to have to adjust the way they play based on their personnel, but I think a lot of teams just weren’t prepared for what Miami were doing early in the season. But I’m curious, and maybe you have this information or not, how many drives per game is a team averaging since Tyler’s return? because you’re talking about these percentages at the rim and I wonder whether or not their offense has changed as you would expect it to based on trying to incorporate him back into the lineup. So, while I understand the numbers are down across the board, I do think Tyler has changed the offense ever so slightly in his return. Not in any way that was purposeful or trying to disrupt what other teammates are accomplishing there, but based on who he is as a scorer and the ball dominant player that he has been and should be, you would think that the offense would have to change and adjust just a little bit to incorporate him into it. And you wonder whether or not with less drives per game, maybe those percentages would go down. The flow of the offense might go down or because a defender can key in on what Tyler does, uh maybe you can stag off of them just a bit and maybe So I’m gonna I’m gonna I’m gonna cut you off. Uh I I did look up the number. They’re actually driving more with Tyler Hero. They’re driving more. So maybe that’s impacting the the numbers. I don’t know. 61.8 drives per game versus 60.8 drives per game. It’s the same. Okay. So it’s not much. It’s not much. Yes, it’s the same. So, there’s no correlation there. I mean, and look, I to take that another step further, like, is Tyler Herro changing fundamentally what this offense is? Here’s Miamiy’s pace with Tyler Herro on the court. 105.6. Here’s Miamiy’s pace with Tyler Herro off the court all season long. 105.7. It’s the same. It’s the same. They’re playing with the same tempo. People say, “Oh, well, playing with the same tempo, but are you getting as many transition opportunities?” Because that’s what I looked up. You you were talking about drives. I thought transition opportunities. Well, maybe that’s what’s limiting these shooting percentages at the rim. Like the shots that they’re getting are just harder because they’re not getting out on the break as much. Nope. He’d actually get more 2% more transition opportunities with Tyler Herro on the court than when he’s off the court. He’s actually additive to this offense. It doesn’t feel like that all the time, but I do I think some of this is selection bias a little bit for people who are wondering whether or not Tyler Herro is a good influence or a negative influence on this team. We see the mistakes that he makes the time where he doesn’t rip it from three-point range. I talked about that in our postgame show after the Magic loss. There’s just threes that I wish he would take, but we’re so I think hyperfocused on the things that he doesn’t do that maybe look a little funky. And by the way, it should look funky. He’s still and admittedly so figuring out this offense. He didn’t even get to play it in training camp. Yeah, he’s figuring this out on the fly. The fact that it is a little awkward should be expected. The question isn’t whether or not it’s been an awkward fit. And again, some of the numbers show you that it’s not even an awkward fit. But I I do think anecdotally like watching these games, it does feel like an awkward fit a little bit. I will I I am admitting that. Wasn’t that the expectation? The question should not be has it been awkward. The question is can it work going forward? That’s the only question that matters and that’s what I’m trying to figure out here. I think eventually the shooting will come back. The shooting will come back. By the way, another shooting number Simone Simony Fontio before Tyler Herro 42% from three. Since Tyler Herro returned, 22% from three. What does Tyler have to do with any of that? Nothing. You could argue that maybe the shot quality isn’t as good. That has nothing to do with a 20% dip in three-point efficiency for a guy who is a career 36 plus percent three-point shooter. There’s no reason for him to be shooting 22% on threes regardless of what the looks are. So, some of this is just weird timing slump stuff. Um, and I will remind people, we were already having a conversation about teams catching up to Miami’s offense before Hero got back. this was already happening after games against uh like even mid-season against teams like the Lakers. We were wondering whether or not teams were starting to figure out Miami’s offense. So uh you go so Hero comes back uh November 24th against Dallas. Miami scores 106 points in that game in a win that Talah Hero played really well in. But people are oh they’re playing a little slow. They score 106 points in a win against Milwaukee. Oh boy down the offense. Before that, they scored 127 against Philly and 143 against Chicago. Now, that Dallas defense is very different than that Chicago defense. Yes. But before that, they scored 110 against the Warriors, 115 against the Knicks, 116 against Cleveland. They were starting to get slowed down a little bit already. And we did see that. Yeah, we were already talking about it before Hero came back. And we were actually talking about it in regards to boy, it’ll be nice when Hero comes back cuz it seems like they can use another wrinkle in their offense. I don’t know. I I keep You’re right about the eye test kind of showing that maybe there are times when it looks a little off and that’s unfortunate. And again, all these coincidences have just been very, and I hate to use the same word, but it just feels like it it’s so unfortunate that with Tyler’s return, it was kind of coinciding with, as you just pointed out, teams already figuring out Miami’s offense, players not shooting as well, specifically Fonte, Hakez, whatever. Like, it’s just all kind of been a perfect crap storm for a lack of a better phrase. And and it’s all tied to Tyler’s return, and it shouldn’t be. Look, I and listen, I made the point following the recap of of the the tournament game that maybe he should come off the bench. I think in the moment I felt like maybe Miami could certainly use a boost to their offense uh because they weren’t getting it from Feticia. They’re not getting it with Pella Larson is probably going to miss time and Haime’s numbers clearly a little bit and that maybe where need to be playing a little bit more. I don’t know. It’s not realistic. Like the truth is there’s no chance that Tyler’s going to really be sent to the bench. I don’t think Spo is going to have that conversation with Tyler and say, “Look, you know what? I think this team is better with you coming up.” Do you think that would fix things though still like regardless of whether or not it would ever happen? Yes and no. Like uh I I don’t want to be wishy-washy about it, but I think the bench needs to play better and Tyler going to the bench would certainly help and maybe Khalil going back to the starting lineup where he once flourished not that long ago would certainly help the team also. But I I also kind of tend to think that as you pointed out, the the numbers are just kind of really tanking in a way that we didn’t expect him to. And maybe they’ll get better because Tyler should in theory add more to this offense. And so if you can get through these kind of growing pains when you come out the other side of this all, this is going to be an even better team we saw earlier in the season. At least that’s in theory. And that’s the that’s the thing again that the Heat have to figure out. Is that the truth or is it not the truth? And I go back to the shooting numbers. Haime’s not going to shoot 76% at the rim all season. He’s probably he’s a 60 He’s shooting 67% at the rim with Tyler Hero. That’s where he was at for his career at the rim was 67%. Now 67 I I do think I think he’s shot 67% from his career at the rim. I think that’ll be better though. I I think in this offense, he should kind of even out at 70ish% at the rim. To me, when these guys come out of these little slumps again, Haime has the groin injury. Da’Von has just not been able to hit a layup. Wiggins has been really bad near the basket where he was really good at the basket to start the year. Norm Powell was out with an with a with a foot injury. U and DaVon Mitchell was out with an injury as well. So the guys now, this roster is mostly healthy with the exception of Pella Larson. This team is mostly healthy. I think we’re going to learn a lot going forward because they they lost four straight games in games. Tyler Herro missed two, DaVon missed one, and Norman Pal missed one against some toughish teams. The Sacramento Kings game on the second night of a back-to-back notwithstanding. But this these games going forward between now and the rest of the calendar year, we’re going to learn about this offense. I think and about Tyler Hero’s fit and about this team. I think we’ll get a better clearer picture of what this team is all about. You play Toronto on Monday and then it’s Brooklyn, Boston, the Knicks, Toronto, Atlanta, Indiana, and Denver. Some good teams, some bad teams, some elite teams in that mix. That is a good stretch of different kinds of opponents, different styles, different fights, different quality type of opponents. We’re going to get a clearer picture about what the C team really is. So, is Tyler Hero to blame? I don’t. I think it’s too soon. I think it’s too soon to conclude that he is. Um, but it is something worth monitoring and I think that’s a fair way to put that right now. We don’t have to have all the answers right now, but to make any dramatic decisions based on a a four game sample size where hero wasn’t even in the game in two of those games for people to start blaming Tyler Hero now, I think is very premature. Last word on this, David, and then we’ll go to our next segment. No, I I think uh it’s a good point. I think he uh is just working his way back into it. The team is adjusting. They’re dealing with injuries, dealing with lots of different factors that are all kind of just tying together at the wrong time, but I I still believe that Tyler is going to continue to get better and the rest of the team will continue to adjust accordingly. And I think it will eventually improve. Uh even with this tough challenge or the potential tough challenges up ahead, I think this team is going to continue to get better should they stay healthy and be able to work through these kinks. What about Bam? Is he to blame? We’ll talk about that next. Today’s episode is brought to you by Zachdoc. Guys, it’s 2025, almost 2026. In those days of waiting for someone to become a full-blown emergency before you go see a doctor, well, they’re over. No more walking it off for 6 months or no more pretending that weird shoulder stiffness is just sleeping wrong. It’s time to take your health seriously, and Zachdoc makes that easier than ever. Because staying healthy is more than just hitting the gym or eating right. It’s about actually getting things checked out when something feels off. Using ZDOC makes scheduling easier. You can search for in-et network doctors and book right in the appointment. Real appointment times are listed, including same day visits. No more back and forth phone calls or waiting weeks to be seen. It makes everything simple to keep your health a priority, even with your busy schedule. So, stop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need. Go to zdoc.com/lockdownba to find and instantly book a toprated doctor today. That’s zoo doo.comlockdownba. zockdoc.com/lockdonba. We’ll be right back. [Music] Thanks again for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. The best way to support the show, hit that subscribe button on YouTube, follow us on your podcast app. Um, all right. We talked a lot about Tyler Hero and whether or not he’s to blame. There’s still a segment of Heat fans that want to blame Bam Bio for not doing enough. Uh, David, I I don’t even know if I I don’t want to do the whole this is what BAM does and try to explain the value of BAM to people who don’t care. Like, we’ve done that a 100red million times on this show. I will just point to one stat. The Heat are 9.3 points per 100 possessions better with Bam Adabio on the court than when he’s off the court. Easily and by far with a bullet the best mark on the Miami Heat team. He is by the metrics the Heat’s best player this season. I don’t know what else to say anymore. Yeah, it’s a it’s a strange conversation and I think context makes so much difference uh in having this conversation about Bam as opposed to even maybe what we just talked about Tyler because again his return changed the way this team played but all their changes were taking place simultaneously. Doc, I’m sorry. Bam has been the consistent through line in all of this. And yes, he did miss time, but he came back and the team looked better. And you know, things are I don’t think it’s any concern. Uh to me, looking at Bam and what he provides for this group. I I don’t know. You have to be able to just appreciate what he does. And this isn’t necessarily like as some people have, you know, said about us that we’re apologists or that we’re on his payroll. I don’t know what I don’t know. I don’t even know how to respond to that. Um I wish I was on his payroll. Yeah, that would make things a lot easier. We’d probably be putting out a lot less content if that was the case. But you know what? I’ll sell out if that’s what it takes. You know, we’ll be locked on BAM in a heartbeat if we’re on that paper. So, you know, having said that, I think we just see the numbers and we also see his impact in a way that’s pretty consistent. It might not be what you’re looking for as a fan. And that I totally get. If you want him to be a 30 point per game scorer or to have more 30point games, I get it and you’d wish for that to happen. Believe me, I think we would too. I think Bam would wish for that. But to not recognize his impact is also, I think, kind of pointless because he does make things better. as he said, by a far margin. Uh he’s more effective and efficient and less minutes per game now than he has been throughout his career. He’s putting up similar numbers. He’s adjusted his offense in a way that nobody else has by virtue of putting up nearly five point five three-point attempts per game now for years. Even he was frustrated with the questioning. You know, they’re like, “Oh, when are you going to incorporate three-point shot?” He’s like, “I don’t know. I’ll keep working on it.” Well, guess what? We’re here. He is a three-point shooter. And yes, the numbers have dipped a little bit. He’s at 34% on the on the year. That’s not great, but it’s not so horrific where you’re wondering why the hell he’s putting up those shots in the first place. It’s a miracle for a guy who was a run and jump athlete coming out of Kentucky who was barely playing in college and wasn’t shooting threes at all for the start. Now he’s a decent three-point shooter. Like it’s he deserves credit for developing that. Not blame for only shooting 34% from three. I mean on good on like legitimate volume. I think everybody wanted him to be Brook Lopez, you know, where he’s like having this transformation all of a sudden from a post threat to putting up, you know, 38 point, you know, that was a very late career transformation from Brook Lopez. It took a long time. Um, I understand the other part of this too with the money, right? Like he’s not make the extension kicks in next year. And I understand, hey, you’re going to pay a guy $49, $50 million a year. He should be your number one option. And I would say maybe that used to be the case. Not anymore. These are the guys who are going to be making similar money to BAM next year. Evan Mobley, Jamal Murray, De’aran Fox, Jiren Jackson Jr., Zack Lavine. Those are the guys right around BAM next year in terms of money. None of those guys are bonafide number one options. They’re all either second or even tertiary offensive options, and none of them are good as good defensively as Bam is, right? Like even Jamal Murray, as great as he is offensively, I would you rather have Jamal Murray or Bam Adabio on your team? I I think that’s maybe has more of a matter of taste or what the rest of your roster looks like, right? Like I don’t think Jamal I don’t think you look at Jamal Murray as the guy who could be the number one option on a championship team. Just like you don’t look at Bam as the number one offensive option on a championship team. This is what second bananas get paid. And I’ve made this point a 100 times, but I’ll make it again. If Bam were playing with a 27 point per game score, nobody would talk about him averaging 19 points per game. Nobody would talk about it because they would said instead focus on all the other things that he does at a really high level. He’s a winning player. He’s the kind of player every organization would love to have. And he’s going to he and as good as he’s been for Miami, he would be even better if he were to play with a number one option. Let al not even mentioning a guy like say Luca who can actually just spoon feed him easy looks because Bam yes you can look at his numbers. You could just look at the box score averages over his career and say he just doesn’t get better. It’s 19 points per game every single year. Okay, let’s put context into that. When Bam first started averaging all of that, he was a pick and roll finisher, a lob threat, a guy dunking all the time. That’s what he was. And then during the COVID year starts to develop that dribble handoff game. And that’s the crux of his entire offense. Everything was triggered off that dribble handoff. He could get to the Kelly keeper. He can get to all that kind of stuff from the dribble handoff. Then they take that away. They say, “Hey, bam, now we need you to go into the post.” He starts doing that. They take that away. They say, “Hey, bam, we actually need you to develop that free throw line jumper.” He’s like, “Okay, I’ll do that.” He develops it. He’s doing that. Then last year when they try to get away from those mid-range shots, they start to take that away from him. And then they say, “Hey, we need you to develop a three-point shot. Okay, I’ll do that. Oh, and now we’re going to play an entirely new offense. We’re going to scrap the offense you always knew. We’re not even going to call plays for you. And the bread and butter for everybody yet that plays your position, the pick and roll. We’re not going to do that anymore. You don’t get that. We’re not going to spoon. We barely spoonfed you before and now we’re you’re not even allowed in the kitchen. Like we’re not even doing that. Good luck. And so and he’s figured out a way to still average 19 points per game every single year. He deserves so much freaking credit for this. I don’t know if it comes off as us being on the payroll, fine, man. I just I call it the way I see it. I have nothing but respect for this guy. And if you think you need more from Bam, fine. I will say this, he’s not the number one option on a championship winning team. Okay, that’s what he is and it’s what he always will be. Accept it and realize that the Heat need to go get that number one option. But if you have that number one option with BAM as that number two option, that is how you build a championship team. And you don’t have it without both of those guys. Because if you don’t have both of those guys, then you’re the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis and nobody else. And that’s not good enough. You need both of them. You got one of them in BAM, you don’t have the other one yet. It’s why this Heat team was so dominant when Jimmy Butler turned into that guy. But when he wasn’t that guy, this team was really underwhelming and was starving for that guy. And I think this team right now, as fun as this offense has been, is still starving for that guy. Yeah, I I think that’s ultimately what it comes down to. As we’re having this conversation, we’re talking about two players that we’ve never confused for superstars or at least not in that elite level of stardom. They’re not top 10, 15 players. You can make the case that both of them might be top 40 players. Maybe in Bam’s case, I would skew a little higher just because of his defensive impact and everything he does to incorporate an or to make any type of offense or defense work. And I think that’s something else that you you we could add as far as B. Like you made the point how other teams would want I think 29 other teams would want a BA and buy on their roster. There’s not a defense there’s not a defensive scheme you can’t play with Bam, right? Even with guys like Rudy Goar, oh you can’t switch everything. You could switch everything with Bam. You could play drop with Bam. You could play zone with Bam. You could play blitz and help with Bam. You could play show and recover with Bam. You could do all of the different schemes with Bam. He is the most versatile defender in the league and it’s not close to me. So, we’re just talking about two players that are limited and have their limitations baked in. And as such, I think you fans should be a little bit more accommodating of what they do. And I think both of them will get some blame and and deservedly so because of those limitations. But it’s also would help to understand already we’re not criticizing Giannis when he can’t shoot from 20 feet out or anything like that. like or we’re not criticizing Russell Westbrook at his peak when he was a little bit too ball and didn’t know how to share. What’s that? Yes, we were. Everybody was criticizing Russell Westbrook. I understand where you’re going, but that wasn’t the best example. They were Yeah. Well, they were winning at a high level. Whatever. I mean, again, that criticism was earned though because there were limitations in his game. That’s what I’m saying. Those criticisms of those star level players were deserved because you expected them to be more. It’s like they’re they’re 40% of what your team does. And and as such, you have to learn how to get better. You really do. You’re that good. You have to be able to get better because you are the most important player on this team. I would say that because Bam and Tyler are not. They just happen to be the best players on this team because it’s the way this roster is constructed. You have to learn to accept that they contribute to winning. They’re going through some, you know, growth and changes and everything else like that. But I think ultimately this team is going to be better and it’s going to be better with both of those players on it. Barring any kind of change. If there’s going to be a massive roster upheaval or a trade for a superstar player, Giannis, John Morant, whoever that might be, that’s different. That’s a different conversation to be had. But for right now, with the what those players provide, they’re just going to be making certain adjustments. And I don’t think either of them are to blame for this four-game losing streak or the way that the offense has looked a little bit more sluggish over the last few weeks. And that is why the Heat need to trade for Giannis. That’ll do it for us today. Thanks for tuning in to Locked on Heat. Make sure you’re subscribed and follow Locked on Heat so you get all the latest episodes. Find us on Twitter and Instagram at Locked on Heat. Did Locked on Heat make your Spotify wrapped? Prove it on social media to secure a free month of our brand new Everydayer Club. Just tag our national locked on podcast network account on any social platform and we’ll drop you a code. Be one of the first to join the Everydayer Club to get your favorite show ad free and exclusive access to the membersonly Discord channel. For those of you on video, we send you to our first ever 24/7 National NBA YouTube channel on audio. Make sure that you make your second listen locked on NBA Game Night and Locked on NBA Daily.

Miami Heat spark debate as Tyler Herro’s return coincides with a four-game losing streak—are offensive struggles a growing concern, or just bad timing? Wes Goldberg and David Ramil break down Tyler Herro’s impact, Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s efficiency at the rim, and how challenging defensive matchups might be masking underlying roster strengths. Heat fans and national media question if Herro belongs in the starting lineup, but advanced metrics reveal surprising truths and debunk hasty blame.

Bam Adebayo’s value stands out, leading the team by a wide margin in on-court impact despite new offensive demands. The hosts tackle recurring criticism, reinforce Bam’s role as an elite defender, and highlight Miami’s pressing need for a true No. 1 scoring option.

0:00 – Tyler Herro’s Impact On Heat
10:42 – Deep Dive: Metrics & Blame
24:20 – Bam Adebayo Criticism & Team Ceiling

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