4. Tyler Herro
For all the hand-wringing about Tyler Herro and whether he’s a no. 1 option, his trade value and what-have-you, lost in the sauce is the simple fact that this is a good player, an elite shooter, and one of Miami’s most important players.
Herro didn’t play well as the Heat’s only experienced scorer in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics. He averaged 16.8 points on 38.5% shooting overall and the Heat were out-scored by 43 points for the series when he was on the court.
Many cited this as proof that Herro will never be a no. 1 option on offense. My take: I never thought he would be, so who cares?
How many players built like Herro – a lithe 6-foot-5 with limited athleticism – are no. 1 options on a contending offense? This was never a fair bar to hold Herro to, even if he held himself to it. (What else should he do, hold himself to a lower standard?)
It’s true that Herro needs to dial his game in a more efficient direction. Doing that will unlock layers of chemistry within Miami’s offense and make it easier for him to play off Butler and Adebayo.
Fun fact: He was doing it before being thrust into do-everything mode in the playoffs when Butler and Rozier weren’t available.
The Heat have been pushing Herro to take more catch-and-shoot 3s and last season a career-high 81% of his 3s were assisted, up from 69% the year prior. He needs to take fewer mid-range shots, but his shot plot has been trending in the right direction since his rookie season. He’ll never get to the rim or draw fouls at a high rate, but he attempted a career-high rate of floaters within 10 feet of the basket last season.
If Herro keeps tilting his game into more efficient areas of the floor, the Heat’s offense will benefit. But, to do that, he’ll need to play off of other ball-handlers and more engaged stars.