Like previous offseasons, the Miami Heat stood pat while other teams made moves. But this could be for good reason considering their current roster.
Although the team will likely play through forward Jimmy Butler and center Bam Adebayo this year, they have a promising backcourt with point guard Terry Rozier and shooting guard Tyler Herro.
On a recent episode of Jeremy Tache’s Miami Mic’d Up podcast, Herro expressed his confidence in his backcourt partnership with Rozier.
“We both believe we’re one of the best backcourts in the league, and we both individually think we’re one of the best guards in the league,” Herro said.
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The duo’s playing styles complement one another
Throughout their respective careers, Herro and Rozier established themselves as well-talented guards.
When the Heat drafted Herro in 2019, they wanted to find someone to fulfill much-needed shooting duties. Herro met the expectations, quickly becoming one of the league’s best deep-range shooters. For his career, he is shooting 38.5% from the 3-point line and has never shot below 36% in any of his five seasons.
As for Rozier, his 3-point shooting skills aren’t as lethal as Herro. Although he shoots 36.7% from long range, he has been fairly inconsistent for his career. Unlike Herro, he takes a big chunk of his shots by driving to the rim for layups and dunks.
Heat fans already got a sneak peek
This season will be the first full one where Herro and Rozier can compete alongside one another.
In January last season, Rozier was traded to Miami following a five-year stint with the Charlotte Hornets. In just 11 games together, Herro and Rozier averaged 29.8 points, 9.9 assists, and 4.5 3-pointers per game. Despite that, the Heat only logged a 5-6 record with the backcourt duo. Unfortunately, Rozier’s season was cut short due to a neck injury he suffered in April.
Other backcourt duos might have something to say
Herro and Rozier might be one of the best backcourt duos in the league but they will have competition.
One of their competitors is Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers. When Cleveland traded for Mitchell in September 2022, the purpose was to pair Garland with another guard. Within the last two seasons, they played 95 games together. During those games, they averaged a combined 45.9 points, 11.7 assists and 5.6 3-pointers.
Another duo they will have to battle against is Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
The two superstars played together for two years but last season they began catching a lot of attention. Doncic averaged a career-high and NBA-leading 33.9 points a game while Irving contributed 25.6 points per contest. In the playoffs, they combined for averages of 51.0 points and even led the Mavericks to the Finals for the first time since 2011.
If Herro and Rozier remain injury-free this year, they could become one of the league’s top duos.
