With the way the Miami Heat have embraced a more spread-out offensive approach this season, it's become quite clear that Tyler Herro's perfect role on this team is a sixth man. And that was on display in his return Friday night as the Heat (and Herro) feasted on the Atlanta Hawks.
Cruising their way to a 31-point win on the road, it was Herro who led all scoring with 24 points in 23 (!) minutes. If he can continue to play at that level, he would emerge as the best sixth man in the league. Interestingly enough, that's not foreign to Herro. A few years ago, in a similar role, Herro won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
In the years since, he's graduated to a starting role. However, I'd argue that if the Heat wants to get to a point where they can emerge as a dangerous Eastern Conference team, they're going to need more of that version of Herro than the one that Erik Spoelstra is trying to fit in the starting 5 next to Norman Powell.
Why Tyler Herro as a sixth man makes the most sense
As good as Herro and Powell have been, individually, for the Heat this season, the eye test does suggest they're more effective staggered. One way to accomplish that would be to bring one of them off the bench.
Considering that Erik Spoelstra has found some chemistry in the starting 5 of Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson, Powell, Andrew Wiggins, and Bam Adebayo, bringing Herro could be the slight adjustment that may transform the Heat from a fiesty Play-In Tournament team to an opponent no one will want to see in a seven-game series.
The fact that Herro has had so much success as a sixth man in the past makes it a clear move that the Heat needs to embrace. The injuries that Herro has faced this season, which have prevented him from finding a true rhythm with this squad, will only enable Spo to go with this decision.
From an objective point of view, this is a move that could benefit Herro as well. If he can buy into this role and slowly rebuild his overall value to the Heat (and perhaps across the league), it would only help him as he heads into likely negotiations with Miami during the summer. Or when he does eventually hit the free-agent market in 2027.
Herro wants to be a starter and, after his All-Star appearance last year, he may even deserve it. For, at this point, especially how this new Heat offense is built, there's no question that his best role on the Heat right now is off the bench.
It's become so obvious that it can no longer be ignored.