Why Heat is confident in Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo helping team turnaround

MIAMI – As the Miami Heat look to lift their spirits to make a late-season playoff push, it'll be up to Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo to be the commanding voices to do so. With the Heat looking to get back their fearless nature, head coach Erik Spoelstra explains how those two are just the perfect players to turn the season around.

While Herro and Adebayo have made major strides this season on the court, especially Herro who earned his first All-Star nod, it's the leadership off the floor that will be vital as Miami is on a five-game skid before Friday night against the Boston Celtics. Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints before the contest with the disappointment of many of the team's performances, seeing Herro and Adebayo grow as leaders has been a joy to watch.

“Everything that's been going on, that part I've enjoyed watching to see them, you know, grow into these roles,” Spoelstra said. “You know, if you want to lead, these are the times you have to be able to do it when the seas are a little bit rough and a little bit choppy, anybody can lead when things are going great.”

“Everybody can be a front runner in those kind of situations,” Spoelstra continued. “But these guys are, they're about the right things, you know, they want it so bad. They want everybody to play well and get this breakthrough. It starts with that and then everybody else you know filling in as well. We said all the time, it's leadership at all levels. But those two guys have been around the longest. I think everybody's just kind of turning to them naturally.”

Asked Erik Spoelstra about Tyler Herro saying it’s up to him and Bam to lead this team past the skid and his confidence in them.

“They're about the right things. They want it so bad. They want everybody to play well and get this breakthrough….” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/2WAHHxWtZ4

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 14, 2025

Tyler Herro on himself and Bam Adebayo leading the Heat

Despite the Heat's confidence, there is little time remaining for such a turnaround that it has to start immediately with results on the floor, but until then, their mental state has to be stabilized. On the bright side, Herro would say how he's pitch perfect in that aspect while also emphasizing how huge it will be for himself and Adebayo to “get this thing turned around.”

“I'm even keeled,” Herro said. “Try to stay, you know, not get too high and not get too low for moments like this. But this is when this has to bring the best out of me and Bam [Adebayo] specifically, trying to lead this team and get this thing turned around.”

Herro has taken on a major workload this season, especially since Miami traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, as he leads the team with 23.9 points and 5.7 assists per game. He also averages five rebounds per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc in 62 games, on track for his healthiest season yet.

At any rate, before the Heat take on the Celtics, the team is 29-36 which puts them ninth in the Eastern Conference.