Tyler Herro isn't the problem

And four more very important non-star players in the Southeast Division.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Flora; Rembrandt; 1634

In our look at the most important non-stars in the NBA, we turn toward the Eastern Conference and start with the division that damn near had no one in the playoffs … but then managed to get a team to the NBA Finals. Welcome to the Southeast.

Past issues: Pacific | Northwest | Southwest

Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

Herro’s long, weird summer is over, and he’s set up for a long, weird season. The then-reigning Sixth Man of the Year started all 67 games he played last season for Miami, again averaging 20 per game on decent (and career-best) efficiency. It’s the games Herro missed that through everything into question: he missed the Heat’s whole incredible run through the Eastern Conference after being injured in the first game against the Bucks. That turnabout led to harsh but reasonable questions about whether Herro’s offensive skew was holding Miami back, and when he was replaced by defense-first players who happened to get hot, whether that was largely responsible for Miami’s surge.

I find these suggestions reasonable but not exactly fair. In my view, Herro isn’t the problem for the Heat, who struggle to generate offense when Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo aren’t having big nights. Herro is one of the few Heatians who can make stuff happen. But he’s not such an incredible individual creator that his role is unimpeachable, so when you see a high-level defender soaking up his minutes and hitting open spot-up threes, and you see the Heat beating better teams as a result, the conclusion presents itself.

The real problem here is Miami’s lack of a top creator specifically at point guard. Kyle Lowry is 37 years old and has never been a high-usage player. Butler has only briefly flirted with super high usage in the regular season. Herro has the capacity to soak up more responsibility — not terribly efficiently, not well enough to overcome top wing defenders — and did so as a top reserve in 2021-22. I mean, this is why the Heat openly chased Damian Lillard, offering Herro as the centerpiece. Lillard is the type of player needed to get this offense into top gear, unless everyone on the roster just decides to shoot incredibly well for an entire season and postseason.

That gambit didn’t work, and it doesn’t seem like James Harden is on the table, so we’re back to the collective attempts to generate offense in the halfcourt, which puts more pressure on Herro to produce. It looks like he’ll start again. We’ll see how that goes for the team and the player.

Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets

Until Brandon Miller proves otherwise, Mark Williams is the second most exciting prospect on the Hornets roster (after LaMelo Ball). When he could suit up toward the end of last season, he had taken over as the starting center for the club. That should continue.

Still just 21, Williams is already one of the best rebounders in the league, a good finisher and a solid shotblocker.

What I’m most excited about here is that Ball and Williams only played 321 minutes together last season. This should be a rich combination, both with Williams screening and rolling hard for Ball, for Ball’s wildest lob attempts, for 1-5 defensive battery that theoretically tortures opponents, if Ball truly locks in on defense.

The rest of the team is a tire fire, and the vibes seem atrocious. But Mark Williams is worth watching.

Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks

Speaking of cool centers on questionable teams, Okongwu is still No. 2 on the depth chart in Atlanta. Again there were rumors that the Hawks were trying to move Clint Capela, again Capela is on the roster on opening day. Meanwhile, good things happen when Onyeka Okongwu is on the court, but he hasn’t even hit 2,000 minutes in a season yet as his rookie deal winds down on account of injuries and being No. 2 on the depth chart.

Okongwu’s defense is funky and fun. He finished No. 10 in total blocks last season despite averaging 23 minutes per game. This dude can swallow up All-Star centers one-on-one as well as he rotates to help or switches out.

He doesn’t shoot much on offense (despite good fundamentals, including an efficient stroke from the free throw line) and he’s not a monster rebounder. But with two possession-heavy guards and shooting wings on the team, he seems like a perfect fit for the Atlanta starting unit. If only Quin Snyder can find a way to get him in there …

Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic