Heat's most pleasant surprise early in 2024-25 season
11/25/2024 06:28 PM
As the Miami Heat are known for not taking shortcuts in how they work on the court, there has been one player who has encompassed that as they are in the midst of an impressive season. There’s no doubt that Heat star Tyler Herro has been stellar to start the season so far and has been arguably the most positive aspect for the team.
Herro has always been an interesting case study in Miami, as people have been waiting to see if the guard can put up a consistent season in the starting lineup, which has yet to be seen. However, this year could be the one that shows that Herro can be a consistent leading scorer for the team, along with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
So far this season, the University of Kentucky product is averaging 23.8 points per game (leads the team), 5.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from three-point range. He could be on his way to his first All-Star nod, but when asked by Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald about what he’s most proud of to start the year, he had a blunt answer that might surprise fans.
"Nothing," Herro said. "I'm not proud of anything yet, not one thing. I swear."
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra says Tyler Herro’s play has been “efficient”
While Herro’s role with the Heat has been heavily speculated, the response has shown how much he has matured over the years and understands what the end goal is, which is to win a championship. People have always known the talent Herro had, but it was rarely consistent, which the narrative could be changed this season as Erik Spoelstra calls his performances “winning basketball.”
"The efficiency is winning basketball for sure," Spoelstra said. "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."
"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 continued. "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."
Heat’s Tyler Herro change in which shots he’s taking
A lot of how Herro has been consistent to begin the 2024-25 campaign has been his shot profile and the types of looks he’s aiming for on the floor. The Heat’s goal for this season was to play faster and also to focus on shots in the paint and from beyond the arch, and when you look at Herro’s shot chart through 14 games, those areas are being emphasized.
"I'm just trying to play the right way, finding my spots other than the midrange shot," Herro said. "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."
"It's just part of my game," Herro continued. "That's my game, I'm not shooting middies. So it's easy. I just know I'm not shooting them."
Heat’s Tyler Herro cites being matured
As Herro would allude to, there would be some forced shots from mid-range if the offense was jammed and he was looking to make a play, which could have resulted in disappointing play. But there has been a clear shift of change in the offensive game plan that so far has worked tremendously, but he’s focused solely on winning rather than on individual goals.
"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 via The Miami Herald. "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."
"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."
Heat’s Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo see Tyler Herro’s improvements
It is not just Herro and Spoelstra that have seen this uptick in Herro as star teammates Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler have also not just noticed this year’s performance but have seen the potential since the beginning.
"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."
"I mean, he's a prolific scorer,” Butler said. “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."
Funny moment between Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro as @Brendan_Tobin asked the former about the latter's electric season so far.
"He's without a doubt one of the best scorers on the team, not gonna say he's the best…"
Ended with them agreeing they are 1A and 1B lol #HeatNationpic.twitter.com/rflbIVzDkg
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) November 19, 2024
At any rate, the season is still young through 14 games, as Herro will look to keep up his impressive play and prove he can have a consistent season that could see some recognition from the rest of the league. Miami is 7-7 as they next face the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night as a part of NBA Cup group play.
The post Heat’s most pleasant surprise early in 2024-25 season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
