The Heat’s young guard thought he was a goner this summer. "I damn near had my s— packed up," he said. But with Damian Lillard now in Milwaukee, and Herro still in Miami, he’s trying to put a summer of endless rumors behind him.
“It can be easy to overlook Herro’s credentials after this summer of debate. He won Sixth Man of the Year at 22 years old. At 23, he averaged 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists, joining Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Ja Morant, and Luka Doncic as the only other players this century to meet those criteria. All, except Herro, are considered superstars.”
I actually had no idea that he was in semi-rarified air. If you looked at the discourse surrounding him during the postseason and the off-season, you’d think he was a literal high school jv player who was being passed off as an nba player as part of some heat long con lol
I always understood and agreed that the Blazers had no use for Tyler; BUT the way that most people talked about his game— calling him trash, garbage, useless, “how good can he even be if the heat made it to the finals with him out for all of it” — was pretty unwarranted for a guy who’s been like a 22+ pts average and won 6th man of the year.
He’s a lot better than people want to acknowledge; his abilities have been vastly downplayed in order to clown the Heat’s trade package for Dame but he’s pretty good and I’m excited to see what his season looks like.
His weakness on defense is also massively overstated. He’s not a good defender but he was a little below average not horrible like a lot of people say.
44% as an isolation defender, decent as team defender, pretty average advanced and traditional defensive stats, and last year Spo said “He’s gotten a lot better, significantly better,” in late-game moments. Statistically he outperformed Strus who is regarded as “okay” on defense by most people.
His weakness on defense is also massively overstated. He’s not a good defender but he was a little below average not horrible like a lot of people say.
Not saying you’re wrong, but literally every fanbase says nearly this exact thing about their bad defenders lol. I’ve heard it from Mavs fans about Luka, Warriors fans about Steph (before he was actually solid), Suns fans about Booker (before he was good), etc.
Which I think brings up a good point. What happened to Steph and Booker as they aged? They got better. People are writing off Herro defensively far too soon.
Sure I understand that happens but I’m not saying that about Duncan, Love, Thomas Bryant ,who are all bad defenders, and Lowry has declined significantly defensively and is probably a little overrated. I’m not even claiming Herro was even a league average defender last year, but he’s much closer to average than bad (which is the perception around the league) if you watched him last year and look at the metrics.
Herro is a good defensive rebounder for his position. He also has a solid frame and is 6’5”. So even if his shorter arms limit his defensive plays and his slower feet make him a target on defense, he still contributes to a defense in some valuable ways.
To your point, Herro has already improved on perimeter defense. He injured himself last playoffs going for a lose ball he had deflected. He will often be the worst defender the Heat put on the floor so he will be attacked regardless of how much he improves
No one watches the heat until postseason and he had 2 bad showings (one after the bubble where both the lakers and heat only had 70 days, even less if you count vacation) and got hurt last season and the team went to the finals without him. That’s has marred his public image as a basketball player and if there is anything I learned about Reddit, having an punchable face is one of the greatest sins someone can have.
i saw someone that posted “herro needs to be a better overall player not just 3s” and when i pushed back he replied that he has “low rebounds and less assists than i think he should have”
this whole opinion was based on the fact that herro was in the top 20 in 3s attempted and a single game against the rockets he gambled on
I actually had no idea that he was in semi-rarified air. If you looked at the discourse surrounding him during the postseason and the off-season, you’d think he was a literal high school jv player who was being passed off as an nba player as part of some heat long con lol
I always understood and agreed that the Blazers had no use for Tyler; BUT the way that most people talked about his game— calling him trash, garbage, useless, “how good can he even be if the heat made it to the finals with him out for all of it” — was pretty unwarranted for a guy who’s been like a 22+ pts average and won 6th man of the year.
He’s a lot better than people want to acknowledge; his abilities have been vastly downplayed in order to clown the Heat’s trade package for Dame but he’s pretty good and I’m excited to see what his season looks like.
This dude is special man. He’s going to only get better. People just hate his attitude and smugness but whatever.
His weakness on defense is also massively overstated. He’s not a good defender but he was a little below average not horrible like a lot of people say.
44% as an isolation defender, decent as team defender, pretty average advanced and traditional defensive stats, and last year Spo said “He’s gotten a lot better, significantly better,” in late-game moments. Statistically he outperformed Strus who is regarded as “okay” on defense by most people.
Not saying you’re wrong, but literally every fanbase says nearly this exact thing about their bad defenders lol. I’ve heard it from Mavs fans about Luka, Warriors fans about Steph (before he was actually solid), Suns fans about Booker (before he was good), etc.
Which I think brings up a good point. What happened to Steph and Booker as they aged? They got better. People are writing off Herro defensively far too soon.
Sure I understand that happens but I’m not saying that about Duncan, Love, Thomas Bryant ,who are all bad defenders, and Lowry has declined significantly defensively and is probably a little overrated. I’m not even claiming Herro was even a league average defender last year, but he’s much closer to average than bad (which is the perception around the league) if you watched him last year and look at the metrics.
Herro is a good defensive rebounder for his position. He also has a solid frame and is 6’5”. So even if his shorter arms limit his defensive plays and his slower feet make him a target on defense, he still contributes to a defense in some valuable ways.
To your point, Herro has already improved on perimeter defense. He injured himself last playoffs going for a lose ball he had deflected. He will often be the worst defender the Heat put on the floor so he will be attacked regardless of how much he improves
No one watches the heat until postseason and he had 2 bad showings (one after the bubble where both the lakers and heat only had 70 days, even less if you count vacation) and got hurt last season and the team went to the finals without him. That’s has marred his public image as a basketball player and if there is anything I learned about Reddit, having an punchable face is one of the greatest sins someone can have.
i saw someone that posted “herro needs to be a better overall player not just 3s” and when i pushed back he replied that he has “low rebounds and less assists than i think he should have”
this whole opinion was based on the fact that herro was in the top 20 in 3s attempted and a single game against the rockets he gambled on