Despite complaints, Spoelstra, Herro made right call at end of Heat's close loss

Let’s open the Miami Heat mailbag and answer this question about Tyler Herro’s potential go-ahead shot in Tuesday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Down 1, not 2. Surely you take the easy 2"

I was OK with the shot. I understand the frustration with the decision (a fan behind me at Kaseya Center screamed at Herro in anger after he took the shot), but you can’t afford to be picky with five seconds left in the game.

Let’s take another look at the shot:

Herro comes off a high screen from Bam at midcourt, stretching Milwaukee’s defense. Knowing that he can’t give up a 2-pointer behind him, Brook Lopez doesn’t step out all the way, giving Herro an open runway. This is about as wide-open a shot as you’ll find in the final seconds of a close game.

Herro is shooting nearly 40% on pull-up 3s this season. Only Jalen Brunson, Cam Thomas, Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards have been better at this shot. Elite company. 

“I’m taking that 10 (times) out of 10,” Spoelstra said after the game.

Me too. The other option would have been (a) to try to take Lopez off the dribble or (b) pass to a teammate as the clock ticks down.

The first option would not have been better. Lopez was playing the drive and had help behind him. Had Herro put the ball on the ground, he would have had trouble generating a 2-pointer as open as the 3-pointer.

What about a pass? Passing to Butler in the corner here is a bad idea. You don’t want to risk him getting trapped there. The only other read was Adebayo on the roll, but he’s still standing on the logo by the time Herro pulls up – too far away from the basket. This was the right shot.

It’s fair to wonder why Spoelstra dialed up a play to get an open 3. But what if I told you that that wasn’t the initial read?

Watch Duncan Robinson’s eyes as he inbounds the ball. He’s looking for Butler first. Butler comes off an Adebayo pick and is streaking toward the basket. The Bucks are ready for it, perhaps because this has become Spo’s go-to play in some variation. Taurean Prince does a good job fighting over the screen, Lopez disrupts Butler's path a bit, and Robinson goes to his second option. 

That option was Herro. Spoelstra wanted one of his two best offensive players to take the go-ahead shot. The play worked as intended. Herro got an open look. He makes that shot four times out of 10. That’s as good a chance as you can hope for in the final seconds.