Herro, Martin adjusting to life as Heat starters: ‘You need growing pains to figure things out’
If there’s one thing that’s clear from the first 10 games of the season, it’s that this is a different Miami Heat team than the one that made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals last season.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing because the plan was never to simply replicate last season’s formula. The Heat brought back 13 players from last season’s team, but many of those familiar faces are being used in new roles that come with new responsibilities this season.
That has created an adjustment period that has led to some growing pains early this season, with the Heat falling to the Indiana Pacers 101-99 on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to reach the 10-game mark at an underwhelming 4-6.
“I think that’s what you need early on,” forward Caleb Martin said, with the Heat set to return to practice on Sunday at FTX Arena before opening a four-game homestand on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. “I think you need growing pains to figure things out and I’m glad we’re going through those now. It’s good to get that stuff out of the way, so you kind of nip a lot of stuff in the bud.”
Martin is at the center of one of the biggest changes surrounding this season’s Heat mix as part of a new-look starting lineup.
Guard Tyler Herro and Martin are the two newcomers to Miami’s starting lineup that also features Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry. Both Herro and Martin thrived as reserves last season, with Herro winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award and Martin turning the two-way deal he was on at the start of last season into the three-year contract worth about $20.4 million that he signed this past summer in free agency.
Herro, 22 is averaging 19.6 points while shooting 46.8 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range and 90.3 percent from the foul line, to go with 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists through the first 10 games. Those are quality numbers for a quality player who pushed this past offseason to be moved into the Heat’s starting lineup.
But even Herro admits there are challenges that come with playing more minutes alongside other high-usage players like Adebayo and Butler as part of the starting lineup. Lowry is also used to playing with the ball in his hands as a veteran point guard.
“Just trying to find the balance of being aggressive and being a playmaker,” Herro said. “Playing off the ball, especially when Jimmy is out there. That’s a different dynamic, for sure. Picking my spots to be aggressive. Trying not to be too aggressive and taking everything, all the usage from Jimmy. And I know Kyle wants the ball and Bam, as well. So just trying to balance everything out.”
Herro’s scoring is down by about one point per game, his shot attempts are down by nearly two per game and his usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while on the court) is down from a team-high 27.8 percent last season to a team-high 25.7 percent this season.
Those numbers say that Herro still has the ball in his hands a lot this season, just not as much as last season.
“I’m a natural scorer,” Herro said. “So my natural thing is just run to the ball, run to the ball, run to the ball. That’s just how I’m wired. But just trying to space it out sometimes and get to the corner and remind myself to get deep in the corner and just give guys space. Because a lot of teams are guarding me without helping off me at all. There’s a lot of focus on me, so just trying to give guys space.”
Along with playing as a spacer behind the three-point line, Herro is also working to become a better screener and cutter to maximize his off-ball potential.
“I think I need to do a better job of moving without the ball, especially when Jimmy is out there,” Herro said. “It’s a different dynamic. I think I can do a better job moving without the ball. Back cuts, screening for guys instead of just being stagnant. I think I can move the defense without having the ball.”
As for Martin, he feels like his job within the Heat’s offense is ever-changing as the new starting power forward.
Unlike Herro, Martin doesn’t have the ball in his hands much with the lowest usage rate on the team at 13.8 percent. But when Martin does get the ball, he’s usually behind the three-point line and chooses between two options if he’s looking for his own shot: Take the three-pointer if it’s open, or attack a hard closeout and dribble into either a midrange jumper or the paint for a layup or dunk.
The challenge is that Martin, 27, has found that opponents are playing him differently from game to game. He’s shooting a solid 38.9 percent on two three-point attempts per game, but just 47.2 percent on four paint shots per game this season.
“They’re a little different every night,” Martin said of his looks this season. “Some nights, I might get a couple more perimeter looks. Then some nights, they’re just not there and some guys are closing out super hard and the lane is wide open. So I’m getting kind of different looks every night. In terms of just my spots on the floor, they will be a little bit different every night just based on how guys are guarding. I’m still trying to figure it out.”
Martin also doesn’t feel like he has been himself defensively yet this season, noting that “I haven’t been as good as I normally am or should be defensively” with “some hiccups, some mess ups” along the way.”
“I’m there to do what I need to do and do my job, but also make sure they’re as comfortable as possible and make sure they get to what they need to,” Martin added. “On the defensive end, I try to take as much pressure as I can off guys like Jimmy and Kyle and Tyler and Bam. But Bam loves to guard everybody. So it’s a little bit different every night. I’m still trying to figure that out. But I think game by game, it’s getting easier.”
The Heat’s new starting lineup of Lowry, Herro, Butler, Martin and Adebayo played just 17 minutes together last season. The unit has already logged 88 minutes this season.
The good news for the Heat is the starters have produced positive results together, outscoring teams by 6.2 points per 100 possessions this season.
But the domino effect that the new starting combination has had on the rest of the rotation is evident, with the Heat’s bench averaging the sixth-fewest points in the NBA this season at 29.8 points per game after featuring the league’s highest-scoring bench last season. The hope is the wins will start to pile up again as Herro, Martin and the rest of the roster grow more comfortable in their roles within the new-look rotation in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s not easy when you bring a team back, obviously, and all the expectations from last year,” Herro said. “It’s not easy. But with the 10 games, we’re seeing where our strengths and weaknesses are.”
