Tyler Herro is finally back, and that could make the Miami Heat extra dangerous.
The Heat, who are set to visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday in Indianapolis, are 43-34 — good enough for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana (44-34) is in sixth place, just a half-game ahead of Miami.
The top six teams in each conference are guaranteed a playoff berth. Teams seven through 10 have to go through the play-in round.
In short, Sunday’s game is important — and that brings us back to Herro.
On Friday Herro played for the first time since Feb. 23, recording 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in Miami’s 119-104 win over the Houston Rockets.
“It’s just great to have him back,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro, who missed 20 games due to a foot injury. “As head coach, I didn’t forget what he brings to the table.”
Herro ranks second on the Heat in scoring (20.7), trailing only Jimmy Butler (21.0).
“The skill level, the creativity, the speed,” Spoelstra said of Herro, “those are all things we need.”
Despite all the time he missed, Herro was sharp on Friday. He had zero turnovers, and he made 7 of his 14 shots. His only hiccup came behind the 3-point line, where he made just 1 of 4 attempts.
Overall, he was so good that Spoelstra played him 25 minutes off the bench.
“I will probably get a stern ‘talking to’ from our training staff,” Spoelstra said of Herro’s heavy usage. “Let’s see how Tyler feels (for the Pacers game).”
Aside from the playoff implications, Sunday’s contest will be interesting because the Heat have been better on the road (23-16) than at home (20-18). In fact, only the Boston Celtics have more road wins than Miami among Eastern Conference teams.
Indiana, meanwhile, has been just about as good at home (24-15) as Miami on the road.
The difference is that the Pacers lead the NBA in scoring (122.8). Miami is 27th in scoring (109.9).
Indiana also leads the league in field-goal percentage (50.5) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (2.37).
The Pacers are powered by point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who tops the NBA in assists (11.0) and ranks second on Indiana in scoring (20.2).
On Friday, Indiana defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, 126-112. Haliburton had just eight points in that game, but he made up for it with 11 assists.
“(Haliburton) should never be defined by a certain number of points,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a master of facilitating for his teammates.”
Haliburton on Friday broke the Pacers franchise record for assists in a single season with 714. The previous record was 713 assists, set by Mark Jackson in 1997-1998.
“Mark was a really good player, and his record stood for a long time,” Carlisle said. “(Haliburton) will shatter his own record next season when he doesn’t miss 15 games.”
Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.4 points and rebounds 7.8 rebounds in 37 games this season. Myles Turner leads the team in blocks (1.9) while averaging 16.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.
The Pacers also have a strong bench, led by T.J. McConnell, Doug McDermott, Jalen Smith and Obi Toppin.
“We’ve got a great group,” McConnell said. “I feel like our bench has an identity. We’re all excited. We’re all looking forward to the playoffs.”
–Field Level Media
