Tyler Herro is the third-best player on this Miami Heat roster.
This may not be easy on the eyes to read at first but bear with me. Tyler Herro’s 37 points in a playoff game at 20 years old make him the second-youngest player in NBA history to do so, sitting behind only Magic Johnson, who scored 42 in the 1980 NBA Finals.
That alone begs the question of his ultimate ceiling but solidifies his standing among this roster as constructed. Herro is this Miami Heat team’s third-best player, behind Butler and Adebayo, two All-Stars. His rise has been in the works since the NBA’s restart, and there’s no ceiling in sight.
Miami’s rookie scored 16 points on six-of-nine shooting in the fourth quarter of Game 4, reestablishing himself as the one man flamethrower we saw in college at Kentucky.
Remember, it’s Herro to thank that this team had a shot at winning Game 3, although they ended up dropping that game to Boston. The rookie guard had his (then) best game of the playoffs on Saturday with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 36 minutes.
Herro has been hitting big shots all playoffs, that much isn’t new. But we haven’t seen him take over a game as he did in Game 4 at any point in his NBA career. Miami’s rookie has proven their most surprising x-factor in these playoffs, and now their third most talented player.
As the Miami Heat move forward onto Game 5, and potentially the 2020 NBA Finals, look for the narrative that is forming around Tyler Herro to only grow larger as he excels on the floor.