Heat vs Pacers grades: 2 Shooters continue to thrive, 1 keeps struggling

Friday night’s win against the Indiana Pacers did not translate into back-to-back victories. The Miami Heat had a fourth quarter push led by Tyler Herro on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, the Heat were not able to get the defensive stops and force turnovers like they did in the previous matchup. 

Miami was out-scored in the paint 62-28, as the frontcourt duo of Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam created problems for the Heat in the interior. The 119-110 loss dropped them to a rough 2-4 record on the road trip and 5-7 overall as they slip to ninth in the Eastern Conference.

As has been the story for the entire trip, this game was in reach to steal a win. There can be an argument made that at least five of the last six games were all winnable, but instead, the Heat’s shaky start to the 2024-25 season continues. Some rotation players put the Heat in position to beat the Pacers on consecutive nights, as one just hasn’t been able to get into any sort of rhythm.

Let’s dive into some player grades from the loss.

Tyler Herro: A 

It was a quiet shooting night for Tyler Herro up until the start of the fourth quarter, where he single handedly kept Miami in the game. He finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but dropped 19 in the fourth quarter alone. He hit five 3-pointers in the period and went 7/11  from beyond the arc for the game. 

The development in Herro’s efficiency has been the brightest spot for the Heat this season. Unfortunately, his late game heroics couldn’t lead to the victory. But he has played like the best player on the Heat all season long and that trend continued against the Pacers.

Bam Adebayo: B

It’s been a shaky start offensively from Bam Adebayo this year, but he has gotten into a groove to end this road trip. In the loss, he continued the efficient shooting of his own with a 24-point, 8-rebound effort on 9/18 shooting, 2/4 from 3-pointers. He is slowly but surely getting his confidence back in his jump shot, which could really open the game up for Miami. 

Defensively, he wasn’t as sharp in the last game than he was in the win on Friday. Turner was getting to all his spots against Adebayo and he was unable to pick up a steal or block on the night. It wasn’t the dominant two-way performance that he displayed in the Heat’s last win, but he still found a way to make an offensive impact. 

Duncan Robinson: B+ 

Another key rotation piece that has slowly come around offensively lately is Duncan Robinson, and that continued in this game. He led the second unit with 20 points on 60% shooting, including 5/7 from deep. Robinson was the only bench piece that brought efficient production to the Heat. 

His outside shooting helped keep Miami in the game and spread the floor. The outing raised Robinson’s 3-point percentage on the season to 39%.

Terry Rozier: D-

The Heat once again got empty minutes out of Terry Rozier, who has brought limited production out of the point guard spot all season. He was essentially a non-factor in this one, finishing with just 9 points on 4/12 shooting and 0/5 from deep. He also put in a game-worst -15 plus/minus when on the floor. 

Most importantly, he was only able to record one single assist in the game. If his shooting slump is going to continue, it would at least be more valuable to bring playmaking. However, the nightmare season continues for Rozier, as he is in the midst of a major decline in every statistical category across the board.