Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro will be grounded after his stellar Game 4.
I know you’ve likely heard enough about Tyler Herro’s 37-point performance in Game 4, so I’ll try and keep this part brief. But the rookie was phenomenal on Wednesday night. 16 of his 37 came in the fourth quarter alone, as he put on the heroics (no pun intended) Miami needed to get a win.
Herro’s now up to 16.5 points per game in his first postseason, and averaging 20.5 points nightly in this series. That’s exactly why I’m calling for a down to earth moment for the rookie in Game 5.
With their backs against the wall, this Celtics team will have no choice but to double down on their defense of Herro. He’s not (yet) an All-Star talent who’s going to get his buckets on a nightly basis, so Boston’s going to have to ween off another of the Heat’s shooters to pay him extra attention.
Whether that means less pressure on Butler at the perimeter, less attention to Adebayo outside of the post, or actually acknowledging the struggles of Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder; expect Boston’s defensive scheme to drastically change in light of Herro’s play in this series.
And given their success in both the regular season and playoffs, I’d imagine they’ll get the job done, limiting Miami’s rookie guard to 12 or fewer points in Game 5 on Friday. Boston’s boasting the second-best Defensive Rating (105) in the postseason, according to NBA.com.
If the Boston Celtics don’t adjust their defense to cater more to Tyler Herro, I’ll be shocked. But if he manages to break their adjustments and still get his buckets, putting on another career-clinic? Well, then maybe another All-Star has arrived in South Beach after all.