Miami Heat Rookie Tyler Herro Has Made Great Strides This Season
When the Miami Heat drafted Tyler Herro last June, there were a few boos from fans gathered at the arena.
Actually, there were a lot.
The Heat fans were hung up on drafting a player with a bigger name. Herro was a relative unknown after playing just one season at Kentucky. A year later, he is among the Heat's most popular and talented players. Herro had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists against the Milwaukee Bucks in the series-clinching victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
After overcoming a midseason foot injury that caused him to miss 15 games, he is averaging 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists and shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line. He has easily been the most impressive rookie of the playoffs after some felt he didn't belong.
Here's a look at what teammates have said about Herro's growth this season:
Forward Jimmy Butler: "He's a professional. He's going to be in this league for a very long time. He's just so comfortable, so confident. He plays with a swag that you would he is going on 31 like me. We love him for that. We want him to stay the same exact way moving into the Eastern Conference finals."
Forward Duncan Robinson: "His confidence is special for sure. I think everybody's seen that pretty much right from the start. I think the area's he's really grown a lot is his feel. The game is definitely really starting to slow down for him it seems ... He's grown so much throughout the year. The best is yet to come with him."
Forward Jae Crowder: "I just think that it comes from the work he puts in. All those shots you see him take late, as a unit, we're OK with him taking it because we know he puts in the work. I could see if he was a young guy, he didn't come in and he wants to take the big shot. That's a different story. He's the total opposite."
Coach Erik Spoelstra: "Tyler is a much different player now, significantly than he was coming in training back back in October. He works at it. He's humble. He continues to improve so it's just not about his confidence but it's about trying to get better and more reliable."
Forward Andre Iguodala: "If he has a mistake particularly with a part of his game, he'll actually work on that. We see him with these left-handed passes across the court or a right-hand pass under the basket and that's something he's worked on ... I just see a guy that wants to be great and will work at it."
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