How can new projected Heat starting lineup work? A look at how Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin fit
The Miami Heat’s new projected starting lineup still hasn’t played many minutes together. But it took just one game for that group to flash its intriguing potential.
After being outscored by 15 points in the 17 minutes it played together last season, the Heat lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo started Wednesday’s preseason finale against the New Orleans Pelicans and looked impressive. The Heat outscored the Pelicans 60-48 in the 20 minutes that unit played together.
Because of the way the Heat navigated its five-game exhibition schedule by holding out different key players in different games, Wednesday marked the lineup’s first minutes together this preseason. But the Lowry-Herro-Butler-Martin-Adebayo combination is expected to be the Heat’s starting lineup when it opens the season this upcoming Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls at FTX Arena.
“I think it fits, me personally. It looked beautiful to me,” Adebayo said when asked about the new starting group following the Heat’s 120-103 win over the Pelicans to close the preseason. “It definitely felt comfortable for all of us.”
Adebayo, Butler and Lowry were fixtures in the Heat’s starting lineup last season. But Herro and Martin are the new faces in the group, as Herro fills the spot that Max Strus occupied in the starting lineup during last season’s playoff run and Martin steps into the role of starting power forward that belonged to P.J. Tucker last season before he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this past summer.
Herro has pushed for a promotion to the starting lineup since the end of last season, making it clear he doesn’t want to be used in a bench role again even after becoming the first player in Heat history to be named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season.
“The same reason you want a promotion,” Herro, 22, said to a reporter when asked why playing as a starter is so important to him as he enters his fourth NBA season. “I mean, I didn’t come into the league trying to be a bench player. That’s just not who I am. I’m motivated to be one of the best players in the league at some point in my career and I don’t think I can do it coming off the bench.”
Playing more minutes alongside other high usage players like Adebayo and Butler rather than leading the bench unit likely means that Herro won’t have the ball in his hands as much this season. That means that Herro’s catch-and-shoot ability will be a bigger part of his game as part of the new starting lineup.
That’s not a bad thing for the Heat, considering Herro was among the NBA’s top spot-up shooters last season. He made an efficient 42.2 percent of his spot-up threes last season and that part of his game was on display in Wednesday’s preseason finale when he shot 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.
“Having Jimmy, Kyle, Bam out there with me allows me to play off the ball a little bit more,” said Herro, who signed a four-year extension with the Heat earlier this month that could be worth as much as $130 million. “It allows me to just be a spacer. If I’m open, they kick to me and I just knock it down or play out of a close out. It’s hard to guard me when guys are closing out to me.”
There will be plenty of opportunities from three-point range for Herro this season, but it’s the fact that he can do much more on the offensive end than just make outside shots that adds a new layer to the Heat’s starting group.
“It’s the versatility,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro. “That’s what he can bring to whatever lineup. Yes, he can play off the ball. I think that’s really helpful in that starting lineup. But he can also play with the ball and be extremely dangerous in pick-and-roll, off the dribble, catch and gos, in transition. I think he showed pretty much all of that just in the short sample size [Wednesday].”
Then there’s Martin, who is being asked to play in a spot that Tucker thrived in as the Heat’s starting power forward last season.
Martin, 27, is a bit undersized for the frontcourt at 6-5 and 205 pounds. But he makes up for that lack of size with his athleticism that allows him to play above the rim and his ability to fit right into the Heat’s switch-heavy defensive scheme.
“I think those are some big shoes to feel when you talk about Tuck. That’s still my guy. He’s still a traitor and I don’t like him,” Butler said sarcastically. “But I think Caleb has been doing exceptionally well. I’m talking about switching, making shots, being aggressive, being a great teammate. It’s tough to do what P.J. does, but I think Caleb does it extremely well.”
Tucker is a quality screener, has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s best corner three-point shooters and can essentially guard every position on the court.
Martin can do some of those things, but he also brings a new type of skill set to the Heat’s starting lineup. He can play as a floor spacer after making 41.3 percent of his threes last season but can also use the dribble to create for himself and others when the opportunity presents itself.
“I’ve kind of seen that they’re going to put some of their best players on me on defense to kind of take the pressure off those guys,” said Martin, who re-signed with the Heat on a three-year deal worth $20.4 million as a restricted free agent this past summer. “They typically put some of their best players on the weak link offensively, and I take offense to that. So anytime I can put pressure on guys when they’re trying to get plays off, I’m going to try to do the best I can. So I use that as motivation and when I get downhill, see opportunities and make them work like they make us work.”
Spoelstra explained Martin’s fit in the starting lineup this way: “His quick twitch, his speed, his quickness on both ends of the court. And he has a great ability also to put the ball on the floor and make some plays. He can spot up shoot and play off the ball, he’s a great cutter and defensively he’s extremely versatile and he can guard a lot of different guys.”
But Wednesday was only one preseason game and there remain questions surrounding the Heat’s projected opening night starting lineup.
How will Herro hold up defensively? Will the Heat’s help-heavy defensive scheme be able to prevent opponents from taking advantage of a relatively small lineup? Can Herro be maximized while playing in more of an off-ball role? What does moving Herro into the starting lineup mean for Miami’s bench unit? And more.
The good news for the Heat is those questions don’t need to be answered immediately. There are six months of regular-season games to figure things out and make adjustments if needed.
“The more reps we get together, the better it’s going to look,” Butler said. “The better everybody is going to feel, the more everybody is going to know where the ball is supposed to be and what everybody is supposed to be doing. We got time.”
▪ The Heat claimed guard DJ Stewart off waivers on Friday. He’ll be waived by the Heat from an Exhibit 10 contract on Saturday and then is expected to end up with the organization’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Stewart, who was released by the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, took part in summer league with the Heat last year and played in 22 games for the Skyforce last season. The Heat already held Stewart’s G League rights, but claimed him so it could give him his Exhibit 10 bonus of up to $50,000 if he spends at least 60 days with the Skyforce this season.
The Heat will also sign guard Jon Elmore, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Marshall and spent last season in the Lithuanian Basketball League, to an Exhibit 10 contract. Elmore is expected to practice with the Heat on Saturday before being waived and also transitioned to the Skyforce.
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 8:48 AM.
