Miami Heat guard, Tyler Herro, has had a spectacular season thus far, averaging almost 21 points and just over 4 assists per game. He’s been one of the mainstays of this team that has been ravaged by injury and Covid, playing 37 of the Heat’s 43 games.
The Miami Heat have needed every bit of his contributions to stay where they currently sit, second in the Eastern Conference.
After a great rookie year, Herro faced criticism for having a sophomore slump, despite improving his numbers all around. Now in his third year, he has established himself.
His scoring in the midrange and shooting are the skills that have taken him into that higher tier as a player. But what about running the offense?
The main question here revolves around the other side of generating offense for your team. Just how good of a playmaker is he for the other players around him?
Could Tyler Herro At Point Guard Now Be A Weapon For Miami Heat?
The answer is a little unknown, which is understandable, given his role as a scorer. Playing him at the point guard spot was something brought up before and only really dabbled with, to be honest.
That makes sense and especially in this season, as the team has Kyle Lowry, an excellent point guard with proven skills to run the offense.
That and the fact that Herro performs really well off-ball, benefiting from dribble handoffs and the ability to run off screens, are key reasons why you haven’t seen a ton of that this year already.
All that being said, running some offense with Herro as the primary ball-handler is definitely worth exploring. As Miami has such a well-built roster, it could pose some benefit to have an efficient scorer run the offense.
It could serve to throw opposing defenses out of their scheme or set to guard him. The only thing more dangerous than a guy that can blow by anyone or score at will is a guy that can also dish it off to the man that the help leaves open to guard him.
Miami Heat: Stats Don’t Favor Tyler Herro At Point, But That Might Be Deceiving
So far this season and according to CleaningTheGlass.com, Herro has played 21 percent of his minutes at point guard. The stats from these minutes are a bit of a mixed bag.
The point differential is a minus .02 but offensive points per possession are at 16.6, which would be in the top 10 percent of the league. So, it’s hard to gauge overall efficiency with Herro at the point but there is some potential there.
Plus, it’s only been about 240 minutes thus far. You have to lean towards him needing a few more possessions to figure things out.
Looking at his passing, it’s also a little difficult, as his 4 assists a game aren’t a ton either. However, that also isn’t his role.
Again, he has Lowry next to him, who is averaging eight assists per game.
There are only so many assists to go around. A good deal of the assists he does manage to come across though come off of finding his big men in the pick and roll for lobs or open shooters on swing passes.
He makes the right plays at the right time, which is notable. Herro at point guard isn’t something anyone should expect to see a lot of, but it is something that might start to get a little more action in the right moments.
His playmaking is there, it just needs a little more light to shine. In the playoffs, it’s important to have adaptability.
Reserving certain plays and lineups for certain opponents has been proven to be beneficial and difficult, at the same time. Coach Erik Spoelstra has always been talented at managing the Heat from series to series though.
Playing Herro at point guard might be one of his hidden weapons when they go against other contenders. At the very least, it may be worth a shot to throw them off balance.