As far as team awards go, with a title being the most important one, the Miami Heat are firmly in the running. The case isn’t so different for some of their individual talents either.
The race for various awards tightens as the NBA season hovers around 30 remaining games on the slate. One person that seems to be running away with the lead for a particular piece of hardware is Miami Heat phenom, Tyler Herro.
If you look at most predictions, the Miami guard is the heavy favorite to win it.
The players off in the distance are Kelly Oubre Jr. and Montrezl Harrell, while Kevin Love is making a strong individual case too with his and his team’s performance this year.
Herro continues to dust the competition though, but how did we get here? And can he close out the season against the, albeit, distant competition?
Herro’s 2020-2021 campaign was a roller coaster. From month to month,14 was Jekyll and Hyding his way through the season.
He would play up to the ceiling he set for himself in the bubble run, but then, at times, dip well below inconsistency into scary. His story didn’t stop there though.
Confidence Will Win Tyler Herro Hardware While He Helps Miami Heat Win Some
Now, he is not only righting the ship, but he is picking up where he left off during the Miami Heat’s Finals run. Herro is currently averaging just a shade under 21 points per game, a career-best by over five points.
He is hitting that mark in an expanded role, both in minutes (over 32 minutes per game) and total offense (over 17 shot attempts per game).
Despite more run and more looks, he is staying efficient.
He averages 43 percent from the field and a career-high 38 percent from three.
He is also getting to the line more, where he shoots 87 percent and closer to 88, at 87.5.
Not only is he growing as a scorer, but he is also taking advantage of all the depth on this Miami Heat squad. Herro is tossing four dimes each game on top of everything else, showing his chops as an evolving playmaker too.
Herro got here with on-court intellectual growth and off-court physical growth, the whole weight room storyline of the offseason. Most importantly though, it all shows up when you hit the film.
Tyler Herro Is Growing Everyday For The Miami Heat And With Colossal Impact
The most immediate thing you can see when watching the tape is confidence. Whether it is just a huge green light from the coaching staff or two years in the league, Herro is not pulling any punches.
From transition to screens and handoffs to calling his own number off the dribble, Herro shows no hesitation. Shooting with confidence shows up in a far more efficient season than last season.
But the shot selection itself is also better in 2021-2022.
Already, the former Kentucky guard has nearly as many made layups this year (67) as the whole of last year (91). And he has already made more cutting layups and just 10 fewer made driving layups this season in comparison to the previous year.
All this work getting to the basket shows up at the charity stripe, where he is spending more time and shooting nearly 90 percent.
All that confidence is translating to Herro reacting and not getting caught up thinking, making him a much more lethal offensive player. Nowhere is his confidence more apparent than in the clutch.
Last year, NBA clutch stats reported Herro shooting 29 percent from the field and 22 percent from three in the final five minutes. Skip forward a matter of months, Herro now shoots 41 and 50 in the last five.
His points have jumped from 1.3 per game to 2.5 in those moments and all while he has cut his turnovers in half. The growth is apparent, the confidence is oozing, and the NBA’s likely Sixth Man Of The Year is a huge reason the Heat are on top of the East.
Just give him the award already.