Miami Heat: Can Tyler Herro lead the team in scoring this season?

Exploring whether Tyler Herro can lead the Miami Heat in scoring this season. 

There may not have been another player that was more impressive in the preseason than Tyler Herro. After a disappointing sophomore season, Herro proved that he is ready to take the next step as a star in his third season with the Miami Heat.

Through at least the preseason, Herro looks like he’s ready to take a bigger role on the offense for the Heat. The big question is how big of a role he’ll be able to take. And after setting defenses on fire in the preseason, there’s a growing sense that he could perhaps lead the team in scoring.

Looking at his preseason stats, it’s not too far-fetched of a thought.

In five preseason games played, Herro averaged 22 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game on 51 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent shooting from 3-point range. But it wasn’t just the stats that made many believers of Herro.

Herro is not only extremely productive but he looks bigger, faster, and stronger. He showed in the preseason that he can finish through contact, which he rarely flashed last season. His pull-up jumper has never looked better and, perhaps most importantly, he looks so much more confident.

Herro with confidence is something that we rarely saw last season.

If Herro can continue to play at this level heading into the regular season, he could generally raise the ceiling for the Heat. If Herro can be a consistent fourth star for the Heat, he certainly raises the team’s chances to be a legit contender in the Eastern Conference.

With the pressure off Herro, he’ll be able to be a super sixth man and will be able to focus as a primary scorer on the second unit. He won’t need to be a primary playmaker, he won’t have to be excellent on the defensive end, and he will be put in a position to be successful on the offensive end – with Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler taking on the primary roles defensively and in terms of playmaking.

Herro has all the offensive talent in the world. Heading into this season, Herro may finally have the team around him that will put him in the best position to succeed. Does that mean he’s going to lead the team in scoring? Who knows, but there’s no question he will be in a great position to.