The Tyler Herro and Norman Powell backcourt experiment has not only not worked for the Miami Heat, but it's backfired in a big way. At this point, it's been a disaster that will leave the Heat in a pretty difficult spot this offseason.
Whether they're willing to admit it or not, they have no one but themselves to blame.
It's not just a matter of picking between Herro and Powell, which will be a difficult decision in itself; it's the fact that the Heat made a gamble, didn't sell at the right time, and will now almost certainly take a loss after what appeared to be one of the best offseason moves just a few months ago.
The Heat's no-win situation with Herro-Powell
Refusing to trade Powell or Herro at the trade deadline could be a mistake that hurts this team for years to come.
If the Heat wants to keep Herro, they'll likely lose Powell for nothing. At best, they'll be able to sign and trade him for pennies on the dollar. If they re-sign Powell, they'll be forced to trade Herro (for less than market value).
If they keep both on the roster, they'd be doubling down on a duo that clearly doesn't work on the floor. Even the great Zach Lowe is questioning Herro's and Powell's fit together. As the often the voice of optimism, if Lowe is concerned and at a point where he can't trust the Heat's ability to make something work, that ship has almost certainly sailed.
And the stats back up that concern.
The Heat can't make Herro-Powell fit together
With Herro and the Powell in the rotation together, the Heat are just 6-12 on the season. On the season, they have a -1.5 plus/minus when they share the floor. They also have a -6.0 net rating per 100 possessions on the court together.
Add in the fact that they're also both negative defenders at this point in their careers, and it's easy to see how this situation has completely backfired for the Heat. The Herro-Powell offensive boost hasn't outweighed their inconsistencies on the other end of the floor. And that's snowballed into a huge problem for the Heat.
If no one is willing to admit it, the stats pretty much tell the entire story.
While Herro and Powell may be good talents individually, and while they could make sense respectively for the Heat in their own roles, they don't work together. And if Powell and Herro are going to be your second and third best players, that can't be the case.
Where the Heat really messed up
It's difficult to blame the Heat entirely for the Herro-Powell experiment not working. Sometimes that happens. It's natural. Where they deserve blame is that they never pivoted away from it once it became clear it wasn't a great fit.
Sure, injuries may have prevented them from achieving complete clarity, but I still find it hard to believe that Miami wouldn't trade one of them without giving it a full season to play out.
But now that it's abundantly clear this duo isn't working, the Heat have pretty much pigeonholed themselves into a lose-lose situation with Herro and Powell.
Miami will have several big decisions to make this summer, with one of the bigger ones revolving around Powell and Herro. However, no matter how it's spun, the Heat's inability to make this duo work, and their not selling on it at the right time, has only made life more difficult for them heading into the offseason.
And they have no one to blame but themselves.