Tyler Herro’s strong play in these NBA playoffs should serve as a reminder to the Miami Heat to remain patient with what they have today.
Ahead of this season, speculation surrounding the Miami Heat and a potential blockbuster deal was seemingly an everyday topic. Among the mock trades, a number of proposals saw the team trading out assets for an All-Star point guard like Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook.
Goran Dragic is going into free agency, and starter Kendrick Nunn was never figured as a longterm fit. Months later, almost at the end of one of the NBA’s strangest seasons, trade talk regarding the Heat is less centered on point guards, and more on forwards and bigs.
Why? Rookie guard Tyler Herro, who’s taken the NBA’s playoffs by storm in Orlando. When he’s played his best, he’s done so at the point guard slot, a development of only the last few months.
Herro walks into Game 5 on Friday night coming off of arguably the best game of his life. The 20-year old scored 37 points, 16 of those in the fourth quarter, to lead Miami to a win. The Heat rookie was electric, exerting a contagious confidence that helped the team close out Game 4.
He’s now averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in this series against the Boston Celtics, and sits one win away from his first Finals appearance in what is only his rookie season.
If Herro can sustain this level of play, and grow into what appears to be an All-Star threshold, well things just got a lot less complicated for the Miami Heat, yet more difficult all the same.
What does the guard’s play mean for their efforts at acquiring a third All-Star this offseason?
Do the Miami Heat need to trade for an All-Star just yet? Or should they just sign gap filler role players to complement what holds the ceiling of a Big Three in Herro, Butler, and Adebayo?
Maybe the talk of bringing in a guy like Victor Oladipo or Giannis Antetokounmpo was all premature. Both would no doubt help to push this Heat team atop the competition, but Miami was being linked to these guys before even knowing what they had on the roster.
With Tyler Herro surging in these NBA playoffs, look for the Miami Heat’s future to fall under a different lens. They’ve answered one of their biggest offseason questions without having to surrender any assets. Once again for Pat Riley and the front office, things are falling into place.
Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat will look to put away the Boston Celtics in Game 5 on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm EST, and coverage will be provided by ESPN.