ASK IRA: Are Heat overloading Tyler Herro’s plate?
Q: As great as Tyler Herro has been this season, he needs to cut down on his turnovers. The eight turnovers in Toronto came with Jimmy Butler and Gabe Vincent out. The five turnovers against the Hornets came with Kyle Lowry given the night off.
Q: As great as Tyler Herro has been this season, he needs to cut down on his turnovers (eight against the Raptors and five against the Hornets in the last two games). Sloppy turnovers have been an issue with him all season, as well as the entire team. This can’t happen in the playoffs. — Joel.
A: But I also doubt he will be charged with nearly as much playmaking during the postseason. The eight turnovers in Toronto came with Jimmy Butler and Gabe Vincent out. The five turnovers against the Hornets came with Kyle Lowry given the night off. Without back-to-back games in the playoffs and gaps between games and series, I would expect the majority of the ballhandling and playmaking to be handled by Kyle and Jimmy. What the Heat will need from Tyler is shot creation, as in his own shot creation. Before the 13 turnovers the past two games, there were a total of five the previous three games. And before Tyler missed two games with his knee sprain, there were five total turnovers over his previous six games. So he knows how to keep them down, an objective easier to meet when the rotation is whole.
Q: Ira, should the Heat sit it’s older players for the remaining games in an effort to have them as fresh and healthy as possible for the playoffs? — Gabriel, Miami.
A: Once No. 1 is clinched? Sure. But also keep in mind, the Heat (and every top-six team in each conference) will be idle from April 11-15, and possibly a day longer, depending on the first day of a playoff series. So you also want to keep your players sharp. As always, it likely comes down to the individual player, as well as the recommendations of the training staff. With Kyle Lowry, the Heat brain trust decided that giving him Tuesday night off trumped all, just as they did with Jimmy Butler on Sunday in Toronto. P.J. Tucker now assuredly will get time off with his latest injury. For the Heat, Friday will come down to whether it has an impact on their playoff seeding. But it certainly could be a skeleton crew Sunday in Orlando, with a lineup that could feature the likes of Javonte Smart, Mychal Mulder, Haywood Highsmith and anyone else who raises their hands when it comes to Saturday’s issuance of boarding passes.
Q: I certainly like the tweaks to the rotation Erik Spoelstra has made. One adjustment I would like to see going into the playoffs is having Victor Oladipo take Duncan Robinson’s minutes off the bench. His defense and athleticism will be much more valued than the spacing you mention Duncan provides. What are your thoughts? — Cooper, Miami.
A: My thoughts are that spacing very much matters on that second unit. And if you are going to play Victor Oladipo over Duncan Robinson, then your spacing could be considerably limited, considering you also will have Dewayne Dedmon and, likely, Jimmy Butler cycled in alongside that unit. That basically would make it Tyler Herro or bust from deep. No, what Duncan offered Tuesday was a reminder of how much spacing, and 3-point shooting, matter.
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