After the Miami Heat’s first preseason game, where they beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-89, Heat forward Jimmy Butler praised the Heat’s first-round pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, rookie guard Tyler Herro.
Here’s @jimmyButler on @raf_tyler …
“He’s a player. This city is going to fall in love with him.”
(Butler changed his tune when Herro walked by)@5ReasonsSports pic.twitter.com/tnpb6tO0Qh
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) October 9, 2019
“T (Herro) is a player man. He’s going to be big for us, big for this city,” said Butler. “They’re going to fall in love with him as they should because he grinds.”
Herro was the Heat’s leading scorer with 18 points while also recording three rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes of play.
Butler also spoke about how eventually teams will begin to prepare for the 19-year-old with scouting reports.
“He can play,” said Butler. “He’s sneaky too. He’s bouncy. He’s shifty. I told him, ‘Right now, it’s really easy because you’re going to catch everybody by surprise. You’re not on the scouting report.’ He’s going to get on the scouting report really really soon, and then 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 what he wants to get to.”
Herro spent one year in college, playing for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, averaging 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 35.5 percent from three.
If the first preseason game is any indication, Herro is going to be a key rotation piece for the Heat as they look to get back into the playoffs after missing out on a playoff berth last season by two games.