March 10th 2025 at 5:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder
**Tyler Herro**‘s usage rate has spiked this season to a team-high 27.1% — and it grew to 30.5% in February as the Heat leaned more on him after dealing Jimmy Butler. He averaged 24.1 points and seven assists while shooting 41.1% from the field and 25.9% on threes during the month, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald notes.
“Just embracing it,” Herro said. “The challenge I would say is just toggling back and forth with trying to make plays for myself and make plays for my teammates.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
They fell apart against the depleted Bulls on Saturday, blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 114-109 loss. They’re now five games below .500 entering Monday’s action. “We’re all in this together. That’s what I told the group right now,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, per Chiang. “I’m fully with them. This is an opportunity for all of us to face our demons to get past this. This is not something that’s comfortable for any one of us and I see something amazing on the other side if we can collectively overcome this.”
If things continue to go sour, it could impact contract decisions on six notable players, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel points out. That group includes Herro, who is extension eligible in October. They also have to decide whether to make Davion Mitchell a restricted free agent by extending a qualifying offer and what to do about **Duncan Robinson**‘s partially-guaranteed deal.
Rookie big man Kel’el Ware hasn’t received many crunch-time minutes and Winderman believes trust issues come into play. It’s especially true at the defensive end when teams utilize smaller lineups.
Good news on the injury front — Herro (illness), Robinson (back) and Andrew Wiggins (ankle) are available to play against Charlotte tonight, Winderman tweets. Haywood Highsmith, who is dealing with a knee injury, is questionable.