How excellent has Heat’s Tyler Herro been so far this season? He’s producing at historic pace
One of Tyler Herro’s biggest goals entering this season was to stay healthy and available for the Miami Heat. Through the first month of the season, Herro has done that and more.
Not only has Herro played in each of the Heat’s first 13 games this season for just the second time in his first six NBA seasons after missing 40 games because of injuries last regular season, but the 24-year-old Heat guard has also produced superstar-level offensive numbers.
With Herro averaging 24.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 45.2 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the foul line this season, he’s on pace to become just the third player in NBA history to average at least 24 points, four rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 48 percent or better from the field, 45 percent or better on threes and 88 percent or better on free throws. The other names on that list are future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, who did it during the 2015-16 season with the Golden State Warriors, and Kevin Durant, who did it during the 2020-21 season with the Brooklyn Nets.
In other words, there’s a lot for Herro to be proud of through the first four-plus weeks of the season. But don’t tell Herro that.
“Nothing,” Herro said when asked what he’s most proud of so far this season. “I’m not proud of anything yet, not one thing. I swear.”
That’s because Herro knows the season is still very young. But while his numbers may eventually drop off from this historic pace, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and teammates notice there’s something different about this version of Herro.
“The efficiency is winning basketball for sure,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat preparing for Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks (6 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “He’s a weapon. Now he’s reading the game, reading defenses and he’s making a lot of really good decisions. Off the ball, with the ball, he’s a tough guard right now.”
Then there’s praise from the Heat’s leading duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who have been Herro’s teammates since he was drafted by Miami with the 13th overall pick in 2019.
“He’s just reading the game, man,” Adebayo said. “The game has slowed down so much for Tyler. He’s understanding how to get the ball, when to get the ball and he’s just making plays right now.”
Butler added: “I mean, he’s a prolific scorer. He can score on all levels. It’s actually really impressive. More than anything, I like the fact and I think we all like the fact that he takes the challenge on defense more. Like he wants to guard somebody and then go down there and give them 30, 40 [points], however many that may be. We want him to keep playing like that, we always have. He’s without a doubt one of the best scorers on this team.”
Herro has actually been one of the top scorers in the NBA, entering Friday as one of only four players in the league averaging at least 24 points per game while shooting 48 percent or better from the field and 45 percent or better from behind the arc this season. The others are Denver’s Nikola Jokic, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Dallas’ Kyrie Irving.
Herro also ranks 11th in the NBA this season in the advanced metric of offensive box plus/minus (5.2), which is a box score estimate of the offensive points per 100 possessions that a player contributes above a league-average player.
“You always want to get to a place like this as a player where you’re playing such efficient basketball that there’s an economy of energy that’s happening at the same time,” Spoelstra said when discussing Herro’s early-season play. “He’s not forcing it, he’s not like over-expending energy to do it. He’s just reading the game, reading defenses. He has a confidence level that continues to grow each year, so he knows what he can do, he knows how he can help us. The efficiency has been a really big thing for him.”
To become a more efficient player, Herro revamped his shot profile.
Once a player who took a high volume on non-paint two pointers, which is considered one of the least efficient shots in the sport, Herro is taking more threes and paint shots this season.
Only 11 of Herro’s 220 field-goal attempts (5 percent) have been non-paint twos this season. Last season, 17.7 percent of Herro’s shots were non-paint twos.
“I’m just trying to play the right way, finding my spots other than the midrange shot,” said Herro, who added weight this past offseason in hopes of becoming more durable and a better finisher around the basket. “I can score from all over. So it’s not really too much of an adjustment for me other than just being conscious and not shooting [midrange shots] because I can score from everywhere.”
Last season, 45.3 percent of Herro’s shot attempts came from three-point range and 37 percent came from inside the paint. This season, 57.3 percent of Herro’s shots have been threes and 37.7 percent have come from inside the paint.
Herro is not only taking more efficient shots, he’s also making a higher percentage of those attempts. He’s shooting a career-best 45.2 percent on a career-high 9.7 three-point attempts per game this season, while also shooting 55.4 percent from inside the paint this season compared to 51.8 percent from inside the paint last season.
In addition, Herro is averaging a career-high 3.8 free throws per game this season.
“It’s just part of my game,” Herro said when asked about his new-look shot chart. “That’s my game, I’m not shooting middies. So it’s easy. I just know I’m not shooting them.”
Herro, who is the third-highest paid player on the Heat’s roster this season at $29 million behind Butler and Adebayo, has produced All-Star caliber numbers. But three years after saying he felt that he belonged in the same conversation with stars like Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Ja Morant, Herro has learned it’s best not to put those types of expectations on himself.
Herro also now avoids putting numbers to his goals. He wants to let it all happen organically, whether it results in his first NBA All-Star Game appearance or not.
“I don’t want to put myself in that situation, where I got to fight and I’m fighting and pulling in the wrong direction to get a goal,” Herro said. “The goal, what does it change if I score 25 a game or 20? What’s really the difference? We have four guys on the team who can score 20. So I’m just trying to keep that all in perspective. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m not motivated, ambitious. Yeah, I still think I can average those numbers. But what works best for the team? What’s going to put this current team in the best position to help us win a championship? That’s really what I’m worried about.”
That type of perspective is the growth that the Heat was looking for from Herro. Pair that with his on-court growth and this is the best version of Herro yet.
“I learned a little bit,” Herro said of ignoring the hype around him. “Just getting older, being more mature, having more experience. It’s early in the season, so I’m good. I’m just chillin.”
INJURY UPDATE
While Dru Smith was held out of Friday’s practice because of a swollen knee, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained right ankle), Terry Rozier (right foot discomfort) and Josh Richardson (heel pain) returned to practice for the Heat after missing Thursday’s practice.
Rozier and Jaquez have said in recent days that they expect to make their returns Sunday against the Mavericks after missing Monday’s victory over Philadelphia 76ers with their injuries.
“They were both able to practice today in contact,” Spoelstra said after Friday’s practice when asked about Rozier and Jaquez. “It wasn’t every single rep, but that was progress to me. And then we’ll just ultimately have to see how they feel tomorrow.”
Jaquez said Friday that he’s “feeling good” five days after spraining his ankle during Sunday’s road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
“I woke up the next day, it wasn’t as stiff as I thought it would be,” Jaquez said. “So I knew that was a good sign. I came into the facility, got treatment, been working every day in the early morning. It feels good, man. I’m feeling like I’m getting back on track and I’m looking forward to Sunday.”
The Heat will issue its injury report for Sunday’s game on Saturday. The Mavericks are expected to be without Doncic against the Heat because of a sprained right wrist.
