Miami Heat: 3 players facing most pressure in 2019-20
2. Tyler Herro
Despite being just 19 years old, Tyler Herro has some pressure to perform in his first season. Miami’s most recent first-round draft pick — 13th overall — was a stellar scorer and shooter in his lone season at Kentucky. He racked up several awards as he showed his ability to get buckets on a Wildcats team that made it to the Elite Eight.
Although Herro will be facing a lot of pressure, his age and rookie status should provide a cushion to fall back on if he underperforms this year. Not every teenager is ready to contribute meaningful minutes in the NBA. If Herro turns out to be among this group of players, it isn’t the end of the world.
However, Miami used a very valuable pick on Herro. Using a lottery pick on a player with lackluster athleticism and an uninspiring frame — 6’6″ height and 192 pounds with a 6’3″ wingspan — means that the player was picked based on their skillset. If Herro’s game translates from college to the NBA, Miami will have a dangerous scorer in its arsenal. Given his unimpressive build and athleticism, that’s a big question.
Miami also picked Herro to fix its shooting woes. Team President Pat Riley told reporters shortly after drafting Herro that he was “really excited” about him and cited that the 2018-19 Heat lacked shooting. Herro, who made 1.3 threes per game while shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc in college, was brought in to help space the floor.
Since Herro will be surrounded by plenty of veteran ball handlers in a system with heavy ball movement, he won’t need to be a reliable shot creator this season. If he can be an effective spot-up shooter straight out of the gate, he’ll be a useful player. Miami can take its time developing the rest of his game as it focuses on returning to the playoffs.
However, if Herro is an inefficient shooter, then he won’t be a useful player. Although he’ll still have plenty of time to improve, he’ll feel some animosity amongst the fanbase — who was unhappy at him being drafted in the first place — if he can’t contribute right away. With Jimmy Butler — and to a lesser extent Goran Dragic — on the wrong side of age 30, Miami needs to win now to capitalize on him before he declines.
What could make things worse is if players picked after Herro outperform him. Unless he’s one of the best rookies in the league, he’ll face the heat if players — especially those at his position — play better. Such is a tradition in the world of NBA fans. Even if Herro is fairly productive, he won’t be able to escape comparisons to players such as Romeo Langford, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Matisse Thybulle if they produce more than him.
Being an unpopular pick will add to the pressure that comes with being drafted in the lottery. His play in the summer league was undoubtedly promising, but with a small window of success at hand, Herro will feel the burden of pressure immediately.