At the moment, the Miami Heat are still sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 45-24 record. They have been the East's top dog for virtually the entire year, and this has been thanks in large part to their strong collective effort as a unit.
Be that as it may, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently came out with a confession about Tyler Herro's key role for the squad. According to the 51-year-old shot-caller, Miami has reached a point where they have relied heavily on Herro's offense during games:
Spoelstra acknowledged over the weeknd that “it’s gotten to the point where we’re dependent” on his scoring. “He’s really making improvements defensively as well. Off the ball, he’s showing much more awareness and activity on the weak side [defensively],” Spoelstra said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
It's great to hear coach Spo talking up Herro's improvements on the defensive end, but what also stands out from his statement here is how “dependent” the Heat have become on Herro's scoring. Right now, the 22-year-old is averaging 20.9 points per game off the bench, making him a truly valuable asset for Miami. Herro has also firmly established himself as arguably the best player in the NBA coming off the bench this season. The fact that he's the clear frontrunner for this season's Sixth Man of the Year award is a testament to this fact.
Should this be a cause for concern for the Heat? The last thing they want is for their offense to be overly dependent on Tyler Herro. An unfortunate injury could come at any given time and naturally, Herro will have his off nights every now and again (although this has been far and few in between this season).
You have to note, however, that Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA today. He has a comprehensive understanding of his team's abilities and he's not the type that would easily fall into the trap of becoming too dependent on one particular player. Guys like Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry, among others, are more than capable of exploding on the offensive end when deemed necessary. Miami has one of the deepest benches in the league as well, making them well-prepared whenever there is a lack of scoring from Herro.
This has not been the case for the most part of the season, however. As a matter of fact, there are times when the third-year guard has looked unstoppable on the offensive end. As long as he's on fire, the Heat are more than comfortable riding the Tyler Herro wave.
It's not all about scoring for Herro, too. He understands that opposing defenses have a natural tendency of gravitating towards him whenever he's on the floor so he has been able to expand his game to get his teammates involved:
“His confidence is really exploding right now,” coach Erik Spoelstra said on Saturday. “He’s generating so many good things for us. As a scorer, but also now as a playmaker.”
Herro is currently averaging a career-best 3.8 assists per game. He's vastly improved on this particular facet of his game, making him an even more dangerous threat for opposing squads. For Heat veteran Kyle Lowry, he firmly believes that Herro is more than capable of taking the next step in his development as a star:
Lowry said the “next level” for Herro is “him becoming a better playmaker. He’ll become a better passer and creator but still get to his spots and be able to do both things as well as the other.”
Last season, Herro went through a bit of a sophomore slump in his second season in the NBA. This was after taking the league by storm as a rookie. There was some doubt last season about Herro and if he was indeed the real deal or merely a one-hit-wonder. He's answered that question emphatically this season.
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