Hall of Famers, others heap praise on Herro, Spoelstra, but still some skepticism voiced
Aside from permanent resident Kendrick Perkins, there were many good seats available in the “national pundits” section of the Miami Heat bandwagon when the playoffs began, before coach Erik Spoelstra’s team swept the Indiana Pacers and dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
Space is starting to fill up, with several network voices expressing appreciation for what the Heat has achieved, but a few conveying skepticism about their chances moving forward.
Rookie guard Tyler Herro’s exploits — including 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in Tuesday’s close-out win — drew praise from two Hall of Famers and countless others over the past day.
“He’s the complete package as a basketball player,” Hall of Fame point guard and NBA TV analyst Isiah Thomas said. “He can shoot it from distance, midrange, can pass it, finish around the rim. This is a great find for a rookie.
“Not only can he shoot it, he has patience. He’s got a low shot pocket so when a defender is on him, he can take it to the basket and he has the nice little floater and touch. He has great vision, can pass the ball with no-look vision [as witnessed on an Andre Iguodala dunk in Game 5]. Left hand, right hand, around the basket. He’s capable of doing anything with the basketball.”
TNT’s Charles Barkley put it more succinctly: “He’s a stud.”
And Herro praise ran the gamut, from Hawks guard Trae Young tweeting “on-fire” emojis, to another former great Heat shooter, Rex Chapman, tweeting simply “I love Tyler Herro,” to ESPN’s Perkins proclaiming “Tyler Herro can play in any hood in America,” to noted curmudgeon Skip Bayless announcing that Herro “has the clutch gene.”
More national reaction in the wake of the Heat advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2014:
▪ Magic Johnson said ”Pat Riley proved again why he is the best executive in the NBA” and said Bam Adebayo is now “one of the best centers in the NBA.”
▪ TNT’s Barkley, earlier this week: “I will tell you this: People ask me all the time about Erik Spoelstra, like, ‘Hey, he was great when Dwyane [Wade] and LeBron [James] and Chris [Bosh] were there.’
“I said, ‘No. They’re one of the best-coached teams in the NBA.’ They remind me of the Spurs. They get guys off the scrap heap or guys who were undrafted and they make them good players. That is coaching.”
▪ Perkins, the longtime former NBA center, said Spoelstra “coached circles around Mike Budenholzer.”
But several analysts also offered cautionary warnings on Thursday. Asked by TNT’s Ernie Johnson if the Heat is “Finals material,” Kenny Smith said: “Not against Boston.”
And Barkley said: “I think Boston is coming out of the East. As great as Miami is defensively, you are not going to stop them three guys [Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker]. And Marcus Smart can handle Jimmy Butler or he can lock up one of those other guys. They’re deep. Boston is the best team in the East right now.”
And ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, while expressing admiration for what the Heat has accomplished, said: “To commit 21 turnovers [in Game 5], they were incredibly sloppy. Too many spurts where they were ineffective and discombobulated offensively. The star of your team, Jimmy Butler, only takes six shots. You’re going to need to do more than that to beat Toronto or beat Boston.
“[The Celtics] have shot-makers, they have elite perimeter players. With Giannis Antetokounmpo being a focal point and [the Bucks’ supporting cast] essentially being spot up shooters, that’s not what Boston has. They have guys who can break you down off the dribble. They can hurt you from the perimeter and they can hurt you playing one on one and distributing the basketball. You will have to be more efficient offensively if you expect to come out of the East. As the competition elevates, [Miami] will pay a price if they don’t get their act together.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Goran Dragic has the best plus/minus in clutch time of any NBA player in postseason; Miami has outscored the opponent by 25 during his 21 clutch minutes, with the NBA defining clutch as the final five minutes of the fourth — or overtime — with a margin of five points or fewer. And Dragic owns that distinction despite shooting 2 of 11 in the clutch. Jae Crowder ranks second on that list with a plus-21 in 19 minutes.
▪ Dragic took a moment to appreciate the moment Wednesday night, acknowledging that he never got a chance to play with Chris Bosh because of his blood clot issues.
Getting this far “means a lot. If I look back, we never had a chance to play with CB. D-Wade, then he left. It was a lot of ups and downs, but I’m happy that we finally made it. We’re still not done. It’s going to be a grind, but so far, so good, so I’m enjoying every game, every day and hopefully we can continue to play like that.”
▪ Though this statistic doesn’t reflect blow-bys, it’s worth noting that players defended by Kendrick Nunn have shot only 28.6 percent in postseason (6 for 21), which is second best in the NBA in postseason (minimum 20 shots). The Heat’s next best: Derrick Jones Jr. (30.8 against), Robinson (40.5), Dragic (43.4) and Bam Adebayo (43.5).
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 4:11 PM.
