Former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire took a shot at Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro on ESPN’s “First Take.”
Stoudemire questioned where Herro’s focus is in the playoffs, and he believes the Sixth Man of the Year is too focused on entertainment rather than actually playing basketball.
“Where’s his focus?” Stoudemire said of Herro. “He wants to wear the shades. He wants to have his back out in the press conference. He wants to do the gun show. He wants all this entertainment stuff, but where is the focus on basketball?”
Stoudemire went on to question how Herro has played since his performance in the NBA’s Orlando, Fla. bubble in the 2019-20 season when he helped lead the Heat to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Stoudemire’s criticism of Herro seems to be a bit unfair, as the Heat guard was terrific during the 2021-22 regular season.
The University of Kentucky product averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game during the regular season while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Heat wouldn’t have earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference without Herro’s play, but he has taken a bit of a step back in the postseason.
Through 13 playoff games, Herro is averaging just 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He has really struggled shooting the ball as well, shooting just 42.7 percent from the field and 25.4 percent from 3-point range.
Despite that, Stoudemire is giving Herro a bit of a bad rap by questioning his play since the bubble. Herro has stepped up for the Heat on several occasions over the past two seasons, but he hasn’t found the same playoff consistency that he had back in the 2019-20 season.
The Heat are hoping that Herro can turn things around, as they are tied 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals with the Boston Celtics.
