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.
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
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