‘Moments of truth’: Tyler Herro standing as singular salvation for Heat

The runway has been his the entire season, with Jimmy Butler nearly as often away as present, with Bam Adebayo uneven off the offensive end.

So it hasnt just been Tyler Herro seizing a moment; it has been Tyler Herro seizing nearly every Miami Heat moment.

With Saturday nights 119-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers just the latest example.

This time it was Herro quieting several Blazers rallies as the Heat improved to 3-1 on a six-game western swing scheduled to continue Monday night against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.

Its reaching a level that its becoming a consistency, its becoming an expectation, coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro providing consistent relief at moments of need, of which there have been many amid this uneven ride to 20-17.

Thats what all great players do in this league.

Teams go on runs, its the NBA, it goes back and forth, and you want to feel comfortable that you have a place where the ball can go.

And Tylers decision making versus all the different schemes that teams are throwing at him is becoming better and more efficient.

Hes reading the game, letting the game come to him.

And then, in the moments of truth, hes stepping up for us when we really need him.

Undeniable, as well, is an increasing comfort of playing as leading man, a role further available with Butler again reduced to a sometimes proposition for the Heat, currently five games through a seven-game team suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

Herro said it is a challenge he has embraced on this trip that began with a double-overtime loss to the Sacrament Kings that has been followed by three consecutive victories.

Its just what we wanted, he said, just to get back on the road, get away from all the chaos and just come out here and get back to who we are and get back to our identity.

And I think weve started to get that a little bit on this road trip.

Just got to keep it rolling.

Unspoken in the locker room over the past week has been Butlers name, perhaps to minimize distraction, perhaps because of the unknown of what comes next with the six-time All-Star, with the Heat acknowledging a willingness to entertain trade offers.

Making it about the guys that are here now, the guys that are in the locker room, Herro said.

Weve got enough.

So thats all that matters.

Also unspoken was an opaque comparison Spoelstra offered when asked about some of the playmaking sizzle Herro has offered in addition to the scoring, such as Saturday nights 32 points at Moda Center.

Related Articles In a lot of instances, Spoelstra said, hes reminding me of another player.

Im not going to say.

You have to figure that out.

But his movement off the ball and his skill level, the passing, the handling, the scoring at all three levels, the ignitability, the flare for the moment in opposing arenas, all of those things.

With teammates riding the Herro wave.

We are buying in, forward Haywood Highsmith said during his televised walk-off interview Saturday night.

The vibes are great.

Everybody is locked in.

We are communicating to each other on the court.

We are connected.

The team chemistry off the court is amazing as well.

Were all doing it together.

Holding one another accountable.

In Butlers absence, Highsmith and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

have both been featured in the starting lineup.

For Highsmith, that included a 14-point and season-high five-steals effort in Saturday nights victory.

Mostly, it has been teammates playing off of Herro.

Tylers getting blitzed a lot.

Hes been such a great playmaker and great shooter for us, Highsmith said.

Everybodys making the right play.

Were just playing together..

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