Inside The Heat

Miami Heat Hype Their New (Starting?) Backcourt

Ethan J. Skolnick|
Dec 23, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) dribbles the basketball against the Brooklyn Nets during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Dec 23, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) dribbles the basketball against the Brooklyn Nets during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Time was, we would go into training camp not sure if Tyler Herro would be a sixth man or a starter.

Those days are long gone, with Herro coming off his best season, one that earned him an All-Star nod.

And yet, there's still some uncertainty about who will be starting with Herro in the backcourt. Last season, he opened next to the disappointing Terry Rozier, but finished mostly next to Davion Mitchell, after Mitchell's acquisition at the trade deadline. Some projected Mitchell to start again, to give the Heat a point of attack defender that they have so long lacked with the opening group.

Logic, and the Heat, however, seem to be pointing to something different.

The Heat's social media team paired Herro with Norman Powell, and that's almost certainly how coach Erik Spoelstra will approach the season as well. Powell's presence gives the Heat another potential 20-point scorer to take pressure off Herro, who was often double-teamed after Jimmy Butler started getting suspended and was ultimately dealt.

There are questions, of course, about how the Heat will operate effectively without a traditional point guard, but the hope is that Herro and Powell can share some of the burden, with the team playing through Bam Adebayo and it has at times before. And maybe even Nikola Jovic, should he crack the lineup over Kel'el Ware.

Powell was more effective off the catch for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, and the Heat had been trying to get Herro off the ball more as well. So it will be tricky. But it's also necessary for a squad that so often struggles to score. Mitchell is almost certain to be the first guard off the bench, and Pelle Larsson may be the second, coming off a strong Summer League and EuroBasket.

The relationship of Powell and Herro, both up for extensions, is the one that bears the most watching in camp. Apparently, the Heat are excited about it.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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