Stephen A. Smith takes aim at Heat player who needs to step up

Why he’s wrong

As much as there is a lot of truth to Smith keeping Herro in high regard as a piece that moves the needle, the fact (so far) is that he hasn’t. If it isn’t health that keeps him out, it is consistency issues. In the Heat’s seven combined play-in/playoff games this past season, Herro played well in two of them.

He has had several opportunities to impact Miami winning as both a complementary piece and even as one of the leading guys. The 2022 and 2023 playoff runs, respectively, were without his services for some or the entirety of the time. 

In 2022, arguably the Heat’s most well rounded roster (during the Butler era) that saw them securing the East’s number one seed, Herro averaged a little over 13.0 points for the playoff run. His consistent availability and scoring as the league’s Sixth Man of the Year is something that was missed for Miami to have the best shot at winning it all that season.

The reliability in health and performance has been iffy to say the least over the years. And until proven otherwise, Smith may have been slightly too optimistic in his Herro evaluation on this team.