Almost two years ago, the fifth-seeded Miami Heat charged their way through their sixth NBA Finals appearance in franchise history within the bubble setup – shocking fans around the world with their selfless play style and hard-nosed, cultural approach.
Yet, many are still doubting about their capabilities to contend and make a splash in the party of the East’s top behemoths this season – which makes the promising Tyler Herro even fueled.
Asked about his sentiments in this issue in NBA Today, the 22-year-old microwave guard claimed that his squad deserves more respect as the current top dogs of their conference while playing tremendously outside of the league bubble.
“Now you can see we can play well outside of the bubble,” Herro said. “We are at the top of the East right now and we know how deep it is … We get better every single day, and we are glad we put ourselves in this position to compete for a title … Not dangerously looming anymore.”
Following their daunting run in the championship series wherein they came up short against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Heat burst with high hopes entering the 2021 season. Unfortunately due to injuries and short rest, they were swept by the eventual title holders Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s first-round playoffs – thus a narrative was created about their incompatibility to fight in the hostile territories.
But in this 2021-2022 campaign wherein the situations seemingly returned to normal with fans now available to watch physically, Miami is on a vengeance mode as they are currently at the first spot of the East with a 46-24 card. Strengthened by the addition of proven floor general Kyle Lowry and some reliable role players like PJ Tucker, they have their eyes on the prize and ramping up for the bloodbath come playoff time.
With Herro having a season of his life in his young career – averaging 21.0 points in 44 percent shooting, 4.8 boards, and 3.8 assists while being the frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year recognition – he is surely prepared to back up his words and help to shatter all the criticisms that they received after their 2020 improbable run.
