Miami Heat Preview: Rookie Gives South Beach Fans Something To Cheer For

The Miami Heat are in for a rough NBA season as they retool for the future. One of the key pieces in that plan is Tyler Herro. He was the 13th overall pick by the Heat in the 2019 NBA Draft and appears promising. Now, teams are likely to pay closer attention to the former Kentucky Wildcat.

Herro came off the bench and scored 18 points to push Miami past the San Antonio Spurs. He was 7-of-13 from the field and made his first five shots at the American Airlines Arena. For the 19-year-old guard, all he wanted was to come out and play ball with an open mind.

“It’s my first NBA game, preseason game, so just be ready to go whenever my name is called,” said Herro in a report from the Miami Herald.

Should he carry on that performance into the NBA regular season, one player who will approve is Jimmy Butler. The new face of the Heat franchise was all praise for the rookie, saying he will be big for the city. The All-Star forward believes South Beach fans will immediately fall in love with him particularly for his hard work.

“He’s going to be big for us, big for this city. They’re going to fall in love with him, as they should because he grinds,” said Butler.

Herro's impressive debut may provide team president Pat Riley a bit of a relief. It is no secret that the Heat are trying to rebuild the franchise. Players like Goran Dragic, James Johnson, and Dion Waiter are on the block mainly due to their fat salaries. The Heat may be holding back before pulling off deals. This performance could alter things moving forward, especially if Herro continues his brilliance up to the regular season wars.

On his end, Butler has some friendly advice for Herro especially if he continues to shine. Things will be easy now because opposing teams do not know him. But after showing what he can do, the 30-year-old cautions Herro that things will only get tougher.

“He’s not on the scouting report. But he’s going to get on the scouting report really, really soon. That’s when he’s going to really start to shine because they know what to expect, but he’s still a player and he’s going to get to where he wants to get to,” he said.