Tyler Herro playing for the Miami Heat in 2024. Photo courtesy of SBNation
As the chants consisting of “We Want Boston!” rained down upon the Kaseya Center court, the Miami Heat knew what they would have to do next. They proved to the world last season that they own the Play-In Tournament, flourishing in its wake, and have done so once again this year.
Friday night’s action down in Southern Florida saw the Heat defeat the Chicago Bulls in the Play-In game by a blowout score of 112-92. The Heat possessed a commanding grip on the Bulls for the majority of the game and ran them out of Biscayne Boulevard.
Herro went 8 for 17 from the field, coming extremely close to putting up a triple-double. He scored 24 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in Miami’s big win over the Bulls. Chicago missed 14 out of 15 shots at one point, while the Heat engaged in a 19-0 run. The Bulls shot only 38 percent overall.
Facing the Celtics
With the win, the Heat have secured the final seed in the playoffs, and will take on the juggernaut Boston Celtics. When asked of that daunting matchup, Tyler Herro provided a strong statement about his team.
“They’re obviously the best team, statistically, numbers in the league,” Herro said. “They’ll be a huge challenge for us, but we’re built for this, we’re excited. We gotta cover for Jimmy [Butler] so we’re gonna go into Boston with a great mentality, mindset, and we’ll be ready to roll.”
Herro is not wrong about the Celtics. They were at or near the top of almost every significant statistic this season, including finishing first in blocks per game, first in three pointers made, second in points per game, and second in rebounds per game.
The Celtics made the Heat pay in Game 1, blowing them out by a score of 114-94, so Miami is not off to a good start. Boston finished with 64 wins and possess the top seed in the entire league, and have no shortage of star power. But the Heat also possess big names — although they will be without one major name.
Playing Without Playoff Jimmy
Herro also admitted that the Heat will be at a disadvantage, as Jimmy Butler went down in the team’s previous Play-In game against the Philadelphia 76ers with an MCL injury, a game which the Heat lost.
“I think a lot of people try to determine the outcome of a game by how much [sic] points someone scores,” said Herro. “I try to do as much as I could to be there and just tried to make the right play, give my guys shots, and not force anything. Just excited to be back in the playoffs, healthy and ready to roll.”
But if any team has defied the odds, it has been the Miami Heat. No matter what happens, Herro and the Heat appear to be ready to upset the Celtics — the NBA playoffs have seen stranger things happen.
