(Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
After winning the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021-22, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro campaigned to enter the starting lineup heading into his fourth season.
“In some way, I would like to start,” he said in June of 2022. “I think it’s my fourth year, so I think I’ve earned it, and we’ll see what happens.”
He evidently earned it, starting all of his 67 games in 2022-23, putting together similar numbers on slightly less usage before suffering a season-ending hand injury in the postseason. He battled injury again in 2023-24, where he was sidelined for 40 games, before parlaying his growth as a shotmaker into the best season of his career last year. Herro averaged 23.9 points on 60.5 percent true shooting, being named a first-time All-Star.
However, Herro, once again, has battled injuries this season. He’s missed all but 13 games with ankle/toe/rib injuries. He recently returned from a 15-game absence with head coach Erik Spoelstra easing him back into the rotation, playing 23 minutes apiece in a pair of blowout wins for the Heat.
Though a recent role change for the recently turned 26-year-old guard should be permanent for the foreseeable future, barring injury.
Why Heat should continue bringing Tyler Herro off bench:
(Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
For the better part of the last two games, Herro was in complete control offensively. He tallied 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting against Atlanta on Friday before following up with 14 points with six dimes against Memphis.
Most importantly, the seventh-year guard looked comfortable off the bench — similarly to when he was the league’s best bench guard a half-decade ago. Herro was ignitable and was put in contexts where he was allowed to be the primary engine and develop rhythm.
Obviously, the stress that Herro and Norman Powell apply together on opposing defenses as shotmakers makes them a tantalizing combination. But both being poor defenders and average — at best — playmakers creates a level of imbalance; both attract gravity as floor spacers, but still need the rock in their hands to possess any intrinsic value.
That’s not to say they haven’t worked together; in a small sample, they have, posting a plus-5.6 NET in just 151 minutes. However, staggering Herro and Powell alongside the likes of Pelle Larsson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Andrew Wiggins, Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis — while sprinkling their minutes together, as Herro begins to ramp up for 25-30-plus minutes per night — may be the best for both worlds.
At least one of them, alongside the aforementioned names (plus Adebayo) creates a stronger balance between the starters and the bench. Miami’s bench has largely been one of its strengths this season — and bringing a 20-point-per-game scorer off the bench for 25-30 minutes a night doesn’t sound that bad comparatively to lineups when the defense (with Herro-Powell) is compromised.
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