On most occasions, when a feud erupts between a star player and the franchise president, the team would be far out of the postseason picture. But, thanks in large part to the outstanding play of Tyler Herro, the Miami Heat are in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Even as Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley’s antics play out on the other side.
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The Heat are 18-17, which is currently good for sixth in the East as we near the halfway point of the season. And Herro has done it all for Miami. He’s averaging a career-high 23.6 points and five assists, playing a career-best 35.3 minutes per game. And he has kept it going while the team tries to navigate the messy, impending departure of Butler.
Herro hopped onto The OGs podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller to talk about his growth as a player. A deeper introspection during the last offseason provided Herro the “equation” to turn things around.
“I think it’s been a good six years for me to just sit back and kind of just learn, take the highs, take the lows,” said Herro.
“And this past summer I was able to just look at it from a bird’s eye view and take the good things and the bad things and make my own little equation and come up with a perfect medium of where I want to be at in my head. Being able to take that maturation and do it on the court, off the court, and just live with the results no matter what they are,” added the shooting guard.
Herro really has been through a lot in his six-year NBA career. He burst onto the scene by helping the Heat get to the Finals in the bubble in 2020, his rookie year. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2022, but missed most of Miami’s return trip to the Finals in 2023 with a broken hand.
Herro has only continued to improve after having his name thrown around in trade discussions for Dame Lillard and others since then. And now, there’s a strong argument to be made that he’s Miami’s best player.
Herro has been proving people wrong his whole career
Herro’s game has become more and more well-rounded over time, and he’s not only overcome criticism from fans and analysts. The guard has overcome it from within his own organization as well.
Riley called Herro “fragile“ after the Heat were bounced in the first-round of the playoffs last year. The player seems to have taken the criticism to heart. Herro has played in all 35 games so far this year.
If Butler is eventually traded, Herro will have to take on even more responsibility. And he’s shown this year that he’s ready for the challenge.
