After the Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament with one more win to make the NBA Playoffs, the team was led by Tyler Herro, who was exceptional, scoring a whopping 38 points. As the Heat move on to face the Atlanta Hawks, star Bam Adebayo gives credit to his long-time teammate while putting his doubters under the spotlight.
Herro had an efficient Wednesday night in the 109-90 rout over the Bulls, where on the 38 points, he shot 13 of 19 from the field to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Adebayo would finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds as he is in no way shocked by Herro's outing, mentioning how in the past, “people have been throwing his name in the mud.”
“I mean, it's not just this season,” Adebayo said, talking about Herro's All-Star season via a video from the team's YouTube page. “I've been saying this all year. You know, it's good for him to have this type of, these types of moments, because in the past years, he's been injured, people have been throwing his name in the mud, and for him to have a year like this. Got the utmost respect for the kid, he's doing his thing. He's out there playing basketball free and putting the ball in the basket.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra touts Tyler Herro's defense
The last time Herro and the Heat faced the Bulls, the star made a late-game mistake that led to the loss on April 9, but Wednesday night showed how much he wanted to redeem himself. For Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra, he would point out how Herro came back from the mistake and how he “quietly” had a productive defensive game.
“Tyler's a great competitor,” Herro said. “Look, we were fighting to get back. I mean, that would have been an absolute steal if we got that game. I mean, if he made the shot, I tell you what, it would have been a whole lot more interesting those last two possessions. He's a great competitor, so he knew he was going to have to bring a lot to this game, and offensively, he was there pretty much at every level, all game long. But I think quietly, I thought he had a really good defensive game, and we need them as we move on to Atlanta, he wants to prove that he can be a two-way player. And I love that about Tyler.”
Consequently, Herro's night led to others having solid efforts on both sides of the ball, especially Andrew Wiggins, who had 20 points and nine rebound,s who called his new teammate “an All-Star for a reason.”
“He's a high-level scorer. Can score all 3 levels. He's a very underrated passer/playmaker too. Creator, playmaker. He's tough. I didn't realize it as much until I got here, actually watching and playing with him. He's nice… He's an all-star for a reason; he's a killer.”
At any rate, Miami now looks to make play-in tournament history by being the first tenth seed to make the playoffs, but they first have to beat the Hawks on Friday night.
