Signs of Tyler Herro's Development, Plus More Miami Heat Observations
Plus, what's next for Kyle Guy and should the Heat continue to start Max Strus over Duncan Robinson?
Here are five thoughts and observations from the Miami Heat’s last week.
1. Tyler Herro’s Physicality
If you want to know the difference between Tyler Herro last season and Tyler Herro this season, take a look at two plays from the Miami Heat’s 23-point win over the Phoenix Suns.
The first, his physical layup on a two-on-one fastbreak. A lot of players in this situation (this is good transition defense by the Suns) would settle for a weak floater, pull up from the baseline or give up the advantage and reset the play. Instead, Herro makes a hard move to the basket, drives his left shoulder into Cam Payne and banks in a tough right-handed layup.
Rememeber all that talk about Herro adding 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason? This is why he did it.
Another sign of his growth: Herro missed five of his first six shots and four of them were jumpshots. When his outside shot wasn’t falling, Herro started getting to the basket. He made five straight shots in the paint before attempting his next jumper (which he made).
Herro entered Saturday night’s game in Phoenix in a shooting slump, and it appeared to be headed that way again early, but Herro forced himself into a rythtm. Some credit goes to the coaching staff, who sat Herro down after his 7-for-23 game in Golden State and discussed his shot selection. This is what development looks like.
The second play was Herro’s pass to set up Duncan Robinson for a 3-pointer to end the second quarter. The possession starts with Herro recognizing a mismatch, but not one including Robinson. Instead, he sees Suns center Deandre Ayton on Kyle Lowry. Herro and Lowry make eye contact and Lowry begins to flare to the left wing, opposite Herro. Herro rejects Chris Silva’s screen and veers right. The Heat now have two shooters on the weakside of the floor while the Suns have just one defender (Jae Crowder). As Herro starts to pass to Lowry, he hesitates because the bodies of Silva and Mikal Bridges are cutting off his window. That gives time for Crowder to close out on Lowry, but that creates a slim opening for Robinson. His shoulders still pointed at Lowry, Herro reroutes his pass, slinging a two-handed dime through four Phoenix defenders and right into Robinson’s shooting pocket. Kaboom.
That’s a highly difficult pass. Not only does it require a fair bit of strength, but it also requires Herro to use his gravity to move the defense. On a night when he would put up 33 points, the Suns were keyed in on him, and he countered with perhaps his best pass of the season. This is the next level for Herro.
2. Caleb Martin… On-Ball Stopper (At Least the Heat Hope)
Going into training camp with Victor Oladipo still rehabing from offseason knee surgery, the Heat believed they needed another wing stopper on the roster. After offseason signing of Kyle Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris and others moved them within a stone’s throw of the luxury tax, Miami’s front offce scavenged the bargain bin of available free agents. They landed on Caleb Martin, who had been let go by Charlotte in favor of his twin brother, Cody.
The Heat called up Martin’s agent and asked if Caleb would be willing to come to Miami for a workout. At the time, Martin was fielding other two-way and non-guaranteed minimum offers. Instead, he packed his bags and headed to South Florida. The Heat’s decision-makers — including Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra — watched Martin compete with their other players and were impressed with Martin’s motor, size, athleticism and burgeoning skill level.
But they weren’t sold. They asked Martin to stick around for another workout the next day. Martin consulted his agent, Eric Fleisher. After all, Milwaukee, Portland and Toronto were already interested. Why bend over backwards for the Heat and waste valuable time without the assurances of a contract?
“We had to talk it through very carefully and see if it was the right opportunity,” Fleisher said in a phone call, “and ultimately decided that from a basketball standpoint, culture standpoint, everything else, it was really the right place to be.”
Martin impressed in the second workout and the Heat immediately started preparing a two-way contract.
“He added a dimension to their team that could be a great fit,” Fleisher said. “He added the athleticism and the versatility to guard multiple positions, the energy level and just the personality that would be a great fit. And that if I was right, and if he was right, that he would have a real opportunity to play.”
It could be argued that, among all of Miami’s development stories this season, Martin’s has been most impressive. Not only is he averaging career highs in points, rebounds, steals and blocks while shooting 37% from 3-point range (up from his career average of 33%), he’s also started the last six games for the injured Heat, who are using him as the on-ball stopper they knew they needed.
In recent games in Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix, Martin took on the assignments of guarding De’Aaron Fox, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul — a murderers’ row of point guard talent — and held them to a combined 3 for 12 shooting.
“He came to us as a two-way player and that was the role we had available,” Spoelstra said after Martin’s night of chasing around Curry. “He's done everything he's needed to do to take on that role and that's what we've needed from him.”
It’s unclear what Martin’s role will be once Butler returns and pushes him back to the bench, but he’s now a proven option Spoelstra can turn to in a defensive pinch.
3. What’s Next For Kyle Guy?
It was 11 p.m. on Dec. 28 and Kyle Guy was in Cleveland waiting for his next G League game when he got a call from his agent. The Heat had just won a game against the Washignton Wizards but had lost guard Max Strus to health and safety protocols and needed a body. They wanted to sign Guy.
Guy, who had to turn down previous 10-day offers as he dealt with Covid through the Christmas break, was nearing an agreement with the Orlando Magic when the Heat called.
“My agent said we’re going to the Heat,” Guy told me in a phone interview from Phoenix. “I was on a flight at 5:30 the next morning.”
This was the culmination of the Heat’s years-long interest in Guy. They had worked Guy out prior to the 2019 draft and kept his name on a long list of players they could circle back to as Guy made stops in Sacramento, Golden State’s Summer League roster and Cleveland’s G League team. It’s not a coincidence that when Strus, a shooter, was unexpectedly placed into protocols, they dialed Guy.
Guy’s 10-day contract expired after Saturday’s win in Phoenix, concluding his first stint in which he averaged 9.8 points on 51.4% shooting (45% on 3-pointers) and 2.6 assists in 20.2 minutes. He re-signed with the Heat on a second 10-day deal Monday after Markieff Morris tested into health and safety protocols.
The other hardship replacement 10-day contracts of Mario Chalmers, Haywood Highsmith, Aric Holman and Nik Stauskas have expired. Of everyone the Heat had brought in, Guy appears to be the most NBA-ready. However, he may not stick with the Heat longterm because of the team’s salary cap situation.
Miami is about $400,000 shy of the luxury tax, not enough to sign Guy to the open 15th roster spot. The Heat also can’t re-sign Guy to another hardship 10-day deal — which doesn’t count against the cap — because rostered players have exited protocols.
Signing Guy to a two-way contract that doesn’t count toward the salary cap would be ideal, but both two-way spots are currently occupied by Martin and Marcus Garrett. While waiving Garrett and signing Guy could be an option, Miami is high on Garrett’s potential and doesn’t appear to be considering that option right now.
If Guy does return to Miami, both sides would have to wait a little longer. Eventually, Martin will be promoted to the 15-man roster so he can be eligible for the playoffs, but that likely won’t happen until March at the earliest, when his prorated minimum would fit below the luxury tax threshold. At that point, the Heat could fill the vacant two-way spot with Guy.
But that’s two months from now. Will Guy be a free agent that long? Based on this recent stretch, that would be surprising.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to find a spot for the future,” Guy said. “If that’s in Miami great. If it’s not, we auditioned for 29 other teams.”
*Note: The Heat, who re-signed Chris Silva to a second 10-day contract Monday, are also high on Highsmith, who impressed with his versatility and 3-point shooting during his 10-day deal. Don’t be surprised if you see him back with the organization at some point in some capacity.
4. Markieff Morris Nearing Return?
Morris has now missed 30 games with a whiplash injury stemming from his Nov. 8 skirmish with Nikola Jokic. Since then, there haven’t been any updates on his progress besides his participation in pregame warmups. At least that was the case prior to the last few days, when Morris suddenly became more active on Twitter.
“I’ll see y’all soon!!” reads his Thursday tweet.
But on Monday, Morris tested positive and was placed into the league’s health and safety protocols. The earliest he could return would likely be Jan. 17’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
5. Should the Heat Start Strus Over Robinson?
Q: It’s finally time to move Duncan Robinson to the bench and make Max Strus the permanent starter. — Taylor.
Following Robinson’s exit from protocols, Spoelstra opted to bring him off the bench citing minutes management as the reason. Starting in place of Robinson was Strus, who has thrived in the same sets the Heat run for Robinson — making it an easy swap.
Early on in Saturday’s game, it appeared Strus was ready to snatch the starting role for good, making two quick 3s and scoring six of his 14 points in the first quarter. But then Robinson erupted, scoring 27 points on 8 for 16 shooting from beyond the arc. That, however, could also bolster the argument that Robinson should continue to come off the bench.
Even as he’s shot better recently, it’s no secret that Robinson started the season in a shooting slump and can be prone to getting in his head if he struggles early in a game. Meanwhile, Strus has played with supreme confidence and didn’t blink when being included in the starting lineup.
By swapping their rotation roles, the Heat could take some pressure off Robinson and hope for more shooting nights like Saturday. Plus, his chemistry with Herro off the bench could be the linchpin of a high-scoring second unit.
"It was definitely an adjustment a little," Robinson said after Saturday’s win. "Obviously, my role is still the same. Whatever this team needs me to do, I'm happy to do. Starting, that's great. Coming off the bench, that's great. One thing you can count on is I'm going to come in and just let it fly."
Ultimately, this would be a personality play. Over the last 10 games with either Strus or Robinson on the court, the Heat are shooting 42.9% from 3-point range on roughly the same amount of attempts and in the same amount of minutes. In other words: Robinson and Strus are interchangeable.
It wouldn’t shock me if Spoelstra, wanting to get another look at this rotation pattern, gives Strus the start Wednesday in Atlanta.
To submit a question for the mailbag, ask one in the comments section below.
*This post was updated following the news that Markieff Morris tested into health and safety protocols Monday afternoon.
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