At the moment, the Miami Heat are still sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a 45-24 record. They have been the East’s top dog for virtually the entire year, and this has been thanks in large part to their strong collective effort as a unit.

Be that as it may, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently came out with a confession about Tyler Herro’s key role for the squad. According to the 51-year-old shot-caller, Miami has reached a point where they have relied heavily on Herro’s offense during games:

Spoelstra acknowledged over the weeknd that “it’s gotten to the point where we’re dependent” on his scoring. “He’s really making improvements defensively as well. Off the ball, he’s showing much more awareness and activity on the weak side [defensively],” Spoelstra said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

It’s great to hear coach Spo talking up Herro’s improvements on the defensive end, but what also stands out from his statement here is how “dependent” the Heat have become on Herro’s scoring. Right now, the 22-year-old is averaging 20.9 points per game off the bench, making him a truly valuable asset for Miami. Herro has also firmly established himself as arguably the best player in the NBA coming off the bench this season. The fact that he’s the clear frontrunner for this season’s Sixth Man of the Year award is a testament to this fact.

Should this be a cause for concern for the Heat? The last thing they want is for their offense to be overly dependent on Tyler Herro. An unfortunate injury could come at any given time and naturally, Herro will have his off nights every now and again (although this has been far and few in between this season).