Miami Heat fans couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year than the one their team gave them. They came out ready to fight and ended up blowing out the Bucks 137-95 on opening night.
It was a great, all-around effort from the team, and nearly everyone on the roster scored a bucker. However, there was one player who stood out in particular – Tyler Herro.
After an explosive preseason campaign, Herro showed people that it wasn’t a fluke. He dropped 27 points vs. the Bucks and started his year off right.
With one great performance in the books, what’s in store for Herro this year? Could he legitimately lead the Miami Heat in the scoring column?
Why Tyler Herro could lead the Miami Heat in scoring: Best long-range shot creator
Tyler Herro possesses a skill that few other players on the Miami Heat have – the ability to create his own shot from range. Other players can do it, but Herro is subjectively the best at it.
Jimmy Butler can create his own shots with ease, but he’s not a true perimeter threat. There’s an argument for Kyle Lowry, but he’s more of a pass-first guy.
Herro is a bucket-getter through and through, and his range is always improving. If the Miami Heat need a bucket from behind the arc, he’s one of their top options.
Every team needs someone who can create their own shot from deep, and Herro projects to be that guy for Miami. That gives him a serious leg up in the scoring column.
Why Tyler Herro could lead the Miami Heat in scoring: Team basketball works in his favor
Based on the first game of the season, the Miami Heat are going to be playing team basketball this year. Their stars don’t care about scoring, so the ball gets moved around a lot.
Their starting lineup has four different guys who can score 20 points at the drop of a hat. However, this means that they’ll be sharing the ball with each other a decent amount.
Lowry is a pass-first player, Butler is a pass-first player, Bam Adebayo focuses on defense, and Duncan Robinson needs someone to set up his shots for him in order to be at his best.
However, once Erik Spoelstra goes to the bench, the focus will always be on one guy – Tyler Herro. He’s the leader of the second unit and there’s no debating that.
If Spoelstra needs someone to contribute off the bench he’ll immediately turn to Herro. With all the minutes he’s going to get without other stars around, there’s no reason he can’t put up tons of points.
The team will look to Herro to lead the bench unit in terms of scoring and playmaking. Other plays such as Max Strus will make meaningful contributions as well, but Herro is the leader.
With the brand of basketball, they showed last night, Herro could be in for some serious responsibilities this year. His scoring numbers could go way up.
Why Tyler Herro could lead the Miami Heat in scoring: He’s matured and they trust him
Tyler Herro has already shown the ability to be the leading scorer on this team. It’s crazy to think about considering the amount of talent the Miami Heat have, but it’s true.
Though it was only the preseason, Herro played great on a consistent basis. Then, he performed just as well in Miami’s first game of the season vs. a solid opponent.
Obviously, the Bucks weren’t at full strength, but they’re still the reigning champs. A dominant victory against that team has to count for something.
Herro led the Miami Heat in scoring last night off the bench. He took more shots from the field than anyone else on the team and tied Robinson for the most threes attempted.
Obviously, there will be nights that he won’t get the most looks, but this is a great sign for the year. It’s clear that the team trusts him to lead them in shot attempts.
Everything Herro has done thus far throughout the offseason, preseason, and in the first game points to the fact that he has matured as both a player and a person as a whole.
That bodes well for not only his season but for his entire career. The Miami Heat have something special in Tyler Herro, and he has a legitimate shot to lead them in scoring this season.