The Miami Heat took Tyler Herro just before the Boston Celtics took the clock in the last draft, and the rookie’s reminding them of such in this series.
Miami Heat fans weren’t thrilled when the team took Tyler Herro at 13th overall in last year’s draft. But imagine now being the team that didn’t get the opportunity to pass on him.
Cue their Eastern Conference Finals opponent, the Boston Celtics, who selected just behind the Heat at 14th overall. They took guard Romeo Langford, who played just 32 games in the regular season and has been ruled out for the rest of the playoffs due to a number of injuries.
So who else would be their final opponent in the playoffs, the last team in the way of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010 than the Heat and Herro? And right when everything’s clicking for the rookie guard, who’s taken his play to another level since the NBA’s restart in Orlando.
In his first career playoffs, Herro is averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and four assists per game while knocking down 36 percent of his 6.7 three-point attempts nightly. All the talk of All-Star potential from earlier in the season is finally starting to feel validated.
Well, not for the Celtics. There’s no doubt they’re looking at Herro as a guy who could have served in a sixth-man role for them off the bench this season. Per NBA.com, Boston’s bench ranked ahead of only the Portland Trail Blazers during the regular season in points per game at 28.5.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, that hasn’t changed much in the playoffs either. Out of the 16 teams that walked into the playoffs, they’ve got the 14th ranked bench in points per game (17.9). For reference, Miami’s bench is scoring 27.8 points per game nightly.
Tyler Herro’s coming off of his best game in this series: 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal in Game 3 on Saturday. Look for his strong play to continue, as he reminds the Boston Celtics what they’re missing in this Eastern Conference Finals series.
Tyler Herro will look to continue proving doubters wrong as the Miami Heat will take on the Boston Celtics in Game 4. Tip-off is at 8:30 pm EST, and coverage will be provided by ESPN.