Miami Heat 2021-22 Player Review: Jimmy Butler
Today, we will be continuing our look at the Heat’s player performances from the season with Tyler Herro, the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year winner.
Season overview (66 games):
- 20.7 PPG
- 5.0 RPG
- 4.0 APG
- 0.7 SPG
- .447 field-goal percentage
- .868 free-throw percentage
- .561 true-shooting percentage
- 16.30 player efficiency rating
Tyler Herro had a great season. He made improvements to his game and his stats showed improvement in every area. He embraced his role perfectly and helped the Heat become who they were. Herro was the second-leading scorer on the Heat and for many nights was the best player.
Best game?
January 8 @ Phoenix Suns
A game the Heat played without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the fifth game of a West road trip…you’d normally chalk that up as a loss against the team with the best record in the NBA. But Tyler Herro busted out a 33-point performance off the bench behind 12-20 shooting that led the Heat to a blowout win over the Suns. Herro and Robinson scorched the Suns and it was a brilliant performance off the bench.
Numbers to note:
39.9 – That was Herro’s 3-point percentage this season. It is the highest of his career and nearly 4% better than he was last year. Herro regained his shooting stroke and became a legit three-level scorer this year for Miami.
7.4 – That was Herro’s scoring average in the regular season for the second quarter! According to StateMuse, that is the second-best in the NBA behind only LeBron James. It almost became like clockwork that Tyler would take over a second quarter and score in bunches. The Heat trusted him and he would often deliver.
8 – That was the number of 30+ point games Herro had this season. For reference, Bam Adebayo had 4 games with 30+ points. Herro was a lethal scorer and that won him the award — and he even gave Jimmy Butler a run for his money as the leading scorer of the team.
Memorable Moments
Buzzer Beaters – Tyler loved beating the buzzers this season. And I love the fact that he didn’t shy away from it even if it would hurt his shooting percentage. He took them and he hit plenty of them. It was fun!
What’s next?
Tyler wants to start and who can blame him. But as Pat Riley put it, go out there and earn it. And he’s going to have to beat out Max Strus — who compliments the starting unit well to have that spot. It should happen. Tyler has earned that right and is good enough, Spo has to figure a way to make it work.
Herro needs to continue to get to the free-throw line better and improve defensively, but at 22 he is on his way. Herro could be on his way to another breakout season as a starter.
