Although Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro had a career year in the 2021-22 NBA season, he wasn’t himself in the 2022 playoffs.
He battled a groin injury in the latter stages of Miami’s postseason run, but even before that, he struggled to produce like he did in the regular season.
Herro recently explained that some of his playoff struggles may have had to do with finding out that he’ll be welcoming another child into the world with Katya Elise Henry.
“I had my groin injury,” Herro began after being asked about what he was dealing with in the playoffs. “That was one thing, but that happened later in the playoffs. I still wasn’t playing well at the beginning of the playoffs. I think part of it had to do with finding out I’m having another kid. That was a lot mentally. It was just the timing of it, but it is what it is, and I’m back ready to hoop, and obviously the playoffs didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but it’s another year and another crack at it.”
It’s certainly understandable if Herro was a bit distracted after learning about such major news in his life, though Heat fans probably still would have liked to have seen more from the 22-year-old during the playoffs.
Herro played in 15 games during Miami’s playoff run. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game along the way, shooting just 40.9 percent from the field and 22.9 percent from beyond the arc.
As Heat fans know well, the squad came up one win short of a trip to the NBA Finals. Miami eliminated the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers in the first two rounds of the playoffs before losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the regular season, Herro had a huge hand in Miami’s success. He earned Sixth Man of the Year honors after averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on 44.7 percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent shooting from deep.
The Heat would surely love nothing more than to see Herro have another strong showing in the upcoming season. After a quiet offseason, Miami is going to need players like Herro to show improvement this season in order for the team to take a leap.
With any luck, the youngster will have not only a strong regular season, but an impressive postseason as well.