For as much as they struggled in crunch time last season, the Miami Heat are probably going to be so much worse without Tyler Herro in late-game situations. As Bill Simmons points out, he was everything they did in crunch time, “once Jimmy Butler was no longer in the picture. With Herro out, it’s almost impossible to predict how the Heat will pivot successfully at the end of games.

Even though Herro is pushing hard to be back sooner than later, it would be surprising if he doesn’t at least miss the first few weeks of the season. Without him in the lineup, the Heat is likely going to have a difficult time closing games.

Maybe that’s a role for Norman Powell to fill, but that’s an awful lot of responsibility for a new player. Bam Adebayo is not a natural closer, and while he’s certainly an option, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to excel in it. No one else on the roster has the offensive prowess to even be in the conversation to fill the role as a closer.

While Herro admittedly struggled with the responsibility at times last season, he’s the Heat’s best option, probably by a long shot, in such situations. If Miami can’t adjust quickly, the Heat could find themselves in a world of trouble by the time Herro returns.

At that point, as Simmons also adds, it could open the door for the Heat to tank.

The Heat’s season could end before it even begins

I have a hard time envisioning a reality in which the Heat are tanking so early in the season, or even at all, but if Herro’s absence does lead to a terribly bad start for Miami, it could bring about some big questions about the rest of the season.

Especially considering how difficult Miami’s schedule is to start the year, facing off against 12 likely playoff teams in their first 15 games to open the year, there’s at least an outside shot that this team falls off pace quite early.

And while the Eastern Conference is not necessarily a top-heavy gauntlet as it’s been in years past, the Heat won’t be doing themselves any favors if they get off to a rough start.

Until they prove otherwise, it’s going to be difficult to expect any different from Miami, especially as long as Herro is out of the lineup.

The Heat are going to miss Herro in more ways than one as the season quickly approaches, but there may not be a bigger hole than when it comes to the team’s end-game situations. And it could end up costing the Heat dearly right off the bat.