Tag: Eastern Conference

Tyler Herro has had a somewhat underwhelming career in the NBA till now. He had everyone believing he was the next Chris Mullin after his performance in The Bubble 2020 but the success there did not translate to the 2020-2021 season. He has been somewhat injury prone ever since his breakout in The Bubble but just recently won 6th Man of the Year this past season but once again was underwhelming when it most mattered. His performance in the 2020 NBA Finals was surpar but who ever expected a rookie to outplay LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the NBA Finals? Definitely not me but the kid just received 130 million reasons to breakout into a star this coming season. Jimmy Butler was left hanging on an island against the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals and neither Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro was able to step up and be the x-factor needed to propel the Miami Heat to the a NBA Finals matchup versus Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors.

I would have much rather had seen the Miami Heat compete against the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals quite frankly because with Boston’s inconsistency on the offensive end versus not only the Miami Heat but also versus the Milwaukee Bucks left no doubt in my mind the Warriors would attack that weakness and take home the Larry O’ Brien trophy. At least I knew Erik Spoelstra had a more reliable system on both ends of the floor which could’ve combatted Steve Kerr’s surreal motion offense and of course Jimmy Butler at the helm who is the ultimate competitor and everything you would want Jayson Tatum to be mentally. Tyler Herro once again disappeared against the Boston Celtics and exactly what I expected when Jimmy Butler elected to sign with the Miami Heat has happened uptil now, concerns about the development of both Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have arised.

I watched Bam Adebayo at Kentucky enough alongside De’Aaron Fox to understand sort of what would be his ceiling as a offensive player at the NBA level. I never projected him to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon but more like a supercharged Draymmond Green which he has lived up to being that he is arguably their most vital piece on both ends of the floor due to his ability to guard practically every position on the court and also be a go to scoring option when needed. The problem is Bam Adebayo won’t ever develop enough offensively to become the second guy behind Jimmy Butler so it’s best to accept Bam Adebayo for what he is the same way the Golden State Warriors have done with Draymmond Green for the past 7-8 years. Tyler Herro is a different story, he has received the higuest of praise from Jimmy Butler and former Heat legend Dwyane Wade on his approach to the game and why he will succeed at the NBA level. The reason we should believe Tyler Herro will take another step this coming season is because a man who came up from nothing believes in him in Jimmy Butler himself.

Most saw Jimmy Butler forewent being Joel Embiid’s sidekick in Philadelphia even after almost reaching the Conference Finals and pushing Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors to 7 games and never expected him to sign with the Miami Heat. Jimmy Butler was quick to compliment Tyler Herro and made it clear he was one of the primary reasons he elected to sign with Miami, Herro’s name has been brought up in trade rumors over the past 2 seasons but those trade rumors will be put to bed now with the recent 4-year extension he just signed. The analysis of the Miami Heat is they are a one man wrecking crew anchored by Jimmy Butler and they will always be a sleeper in the playoffs due to Erik Spoelstra’s experience in the playoffs and ability to extract the most out of what he is given. Tyler Herro is 22 years old, former Laker legend Kobe Bryant was only 22 years of age in the midst of his run with Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000’s and it’s not to say Tyler Herro will ever be on Kobe Bryant’s level but some players become stars in their early 20’s and Tyler Herro has all the potential to play at an all-star level oer the next 3-4 seasons.

He averaged well over 20 ppg last season, shot close to 90 percent from the free-throw line, practically shot 40 percent from the 3, and dished off 4-5 assists on average which is far from bad for a shooting guard. Not sure of what Erik Spoelstra’s plans for who will start will be as he plugged in Marcus Strus and Gary Vincent a ton last season while Kyle Lowry nursed injuries and kept Tyler Herro as the 6th man due to his inability to defend at the same level Vincent and Strus could and with Kyle Lowry healthy Tyler Herro only saw the starting lineup 10 times last season in a season in which he played a total of 66 games. Regardless if Tyler starts or not he should aim to bring up his average to 22-23 ppg and also be embraced as the second option behind Jimmy Butler in Erik Spoelstra’s offense, if it was up to me I would start him at the 2 and give him 35-40 minutes every single night and cut my losses defensively. He isn’t a horrible defender and although not a superb one he certainly has the capability to improve on that end of the floor which could be the next step in his development.

Jimmy Butler has answered the bell on whether or not he could be the first option on a championship team, specially after his 47 point outburst in Game 6 against the Celtics which forced a decisive Game 7 in Miami. Even watching him in the 2020 NBA Finals it felt like I was watching a Jordan/LeBron hybrid being that Jimmy was out for the kill and practically averaged a 30 point triple double in the Finals. Bam Adebayo missed the first 2-3 games and Goran Dragic who was their second leading scorer behind Jimmy Butler was out for the entire Finals, Tyler Herro averaged a measly 14 ppg and it was clear the moment got too big for him. Fast forward 2 seasons and here we are with the 2022-2023 NBA season upon us and a newly signed Tyler Herro who Heat Nation and as well as myself are eager to see whether Tyler can finally step up and bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back to Miami. The Miami Heat aren’t one of the projected teams to win the title this coming season but if Tyler is ready to make his mark in Miami they could really shock the NBA world much like they did 2020, till next time.