Doc Rivers Confident Sixers Will Slow Down Tyler Herro in Game 2

The Miami Heat had a loaded injury report going into their Game 1 performance against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs.

While the star guard Kyle Lowry was listed as out as he continues battling a hamstring strain, the Heat had numerous key players listed as game-time decisions as well. Among those in question was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, Tyler Herro.

Herro has been a critical piece to Miami’s success all season long. Therefore, the Sixers knew they had to keep their eyes on the young veteran going into Game 1 if he was cleared for action.

Despite dealing with a non-COVID illness in the days leading up to the matchup, Herro got the green light to play. While Philadelphia knew what the budding star was capable of doing, they couldn’t prevent what was coming their way in the series opener.

In the first half of Game 1, Herro had a solid performance as he shot 4-7 from the field and collected 12 points in 12 minutes. When the second half rolled around, he torched the Sixers as he put up another 13 points in his final 17 minutes on the court. In total, Herro led his team in scoring with 25 points in 29 minutes.

“We lost him several times,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers ahead of Game 2. “The game is single possessions, and I think he had three times where we literally lost where he was. Probably not the right guy to lose, would be what I would say. He got three, he made them all, but they were just point-blank shots in transition.”

After getting a significant sample size of what Herro is bringing to the second-round series, Rivers expressed confidence in his team’s ability to prevent another big performance from the young guard before the Sixers participated in their shootaround session on Wednesday morning.

“Those things can’t happen. . . they won’t happen tonight,” Rivers said. “That doesn’t mean he won’t play well, but he won’t get those shots, and he shouldn’t. You gotta guard him. He’s the one guy on their team that is really good with the basketball that can take you off the dribble, shoot off the dribble. He’s a very important guy to what they’re doing.”

The Sixers are set to tip-off Game 2 in Miami at 7:30 PM ET. on Wednesday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.