Miami Heat: Player grades from series sweep of Indiana Pacers
Against the Pacers, the Miami Heat’s guard depth proved their greatest strength.
Goran Dragic: A+
It’s quite possible that no one played better for Miami in their first-round series than Goran Dragic. Thrust into a starting role after spending the entire year coming in off the bench, Dragic posted 22.8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in the four-game span.
The veteran point guard’s return to All-Star form makes this Heat team all the more dangerous moving forward, and only furthers their case as a legitimate title contender.
Tyler Herro: B+
This Heat rookie story keeps getting better, and that didn’t stop in the playoffs. Tyler Herro, while at times being asked to play point guard, was impressive in all four games.
He finished the first round averaging 16.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on a 45/36/82 shooting split. Given that he’s a rookie, Herro’s play is an incredible development. But it still seems that he’s capable of even more, so we’ll give him a B+ for now.
Duncan Robinson: B-
One of the NBA’s best shooters and overall surprises this season, Duncan Robinson, has been an integral part of this Heat offense. But his playoff appearance versus Indiana was simply par (or just above) for the course: 12.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.
As Miami prepares to (most likely) take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, they’ll need more even more production from Robinson on the offensive end.
Kendrick Nunn: C+
The C+ grade may seem tough for Kendrick Nunn, who played just 14 minutes the entire round.
But given that making it onto the floor is the expectation, we’ll show Nunn some love for taking advantage of his limited time on the floor. He finished Game 4 with seven points, three rebounds, and two assists; along with an inspiring effort on defense.
Gabe Vincent: N/A
Gabe Vincent didn’t make it onto the floor for the first round of the Heat’s playoffs. Cited as simply (knee) on the injury report, the G-League’s Most Improved Player didn’t touch the NBA court.