Tyler Herro is embracing his new role coming off the bench for the Miami Heat. In his words, Herro is "comfortable" and "happy" with his current role with the team.
That's exactly what Heat fans would want to hear from Herro, especially considering that the team is playing some of its best basketball in the two games since he's returned to a role off the bench.
Whether or not this is a permanent move from Erik Spoelstra remains to be seen. However, at least for the time being, it does appear as if Herro is perfectly fine with this new challenge. And it may bring out the best of the Heat.
"I’m coming off the bench right now, it doesn’t really feel out of place. We got guys that can start. I’m comfortable in my role and in myself and I’m happy where I’m at."Tyler Herro on bench role
After having missed the majority of the first two-thirds of the season, Spoelstra elected to bring Herro off the bench once he returned after the NBA All-Star break. And through two games, the Heat are playing some of their best basketball because of that small adjustment.
The Heat's best basketball could be unlocked by a motivated Tyler Herro
It's an extremely small sample size, and the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies aren't two teams you'd want to see the Heat measure themselves against, but it's hard to argue with the results.
The Heat have looked like a team on a mission out of the break, having won their first two games by a combined 47 points. Miami played two "bad" teams and beat them like it.
In his return game, Herro looked fantastic. He finished with a team-high 24 points on 9-14 shooting from the field against the Hawks. He struggled with his efficiency against the Grizzlies, but still managed to chip in with 14 points, six assists, and five rebounds.
Perhaps most importantly, the Heat didn't suffer despite Herro's struggles.
Despite their wins, the most encouraging sign for the Heat has to be how much more free-flowing they've looked with Herro coming off the bench compared to being in the starting 5. That's not necessarily a knock on Herro, but it speaks to how much of a better fit he is on the second unit.
A big part of that revolves around the unnatural fit Herro and Norman Powell are together as starters. They're two good players, but also too similar to fit with each other in the starting 5.
Bringing one off the bench always made the most sense, and we're seeing it play out in real time.
If Miami is going to go on a run down the stretch, Herro is going to play a big part in their success. And the fact that he's seemingly bought into the idea of coming off the bench is a great sign for the coaching staff and the fan base. It's exactly what everyone was hoping to see.