When it comes to the Sixth Man role, not many in the NBA do it better than Tyler Herro. In fact, last season, he was literally the best at it, which is why he was named the Sixth Man of the Year.
Clearly, lighting up the court off the bench is something that Herro has found a lot of success in. With averages of 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game on 44% shooting for his career, he has shown some extraordinary capabilities on offense.
But are there signs that Herro has grown unhappy with his role? In a chat with the media ahead of the Heat’s opening night, he spoke candidly about his feelings on coming off the bench.
Tyler Herro Gets Trolled By Fans After Comments About Starting Lineup
Herro, 22, believes he has shown enough to warrant a promotion, but it remains to be seen if Erik Spoelstra agrees.
“I’m a young great player coming up in this league and which one isn’t starting? I was the only one that wasn’t starting.”
After making his statement, Herro was quickly called out by fans online, who bashed him for complaining despite signing a $130 million deal this October.
this man complains an awful lot for being a multimillionaire at 22 on a well built contending team
— Clayton (@Clayton2272) October 19, 2022
Bro you cannot play a lick of defense
— Curt ☘️ (@CelticsCurt) October 19, 2022
— audrey 🎱 (@sixersmentality) October 19, 2022
Poole is literally better than him and isn’t starting
— DRP ™ (@DrayRimPressure) October 19, 2022
He’s not even better than RJ Barrett
— L 🫥 🔮 (@BarrettsGoat) October 19, 2022
Poole clears and doesn’t start
— . (@J0ELEMBIlD) October 19, 2022
Know your role kid
— Wes ⚡️ (@drzkillakidd) October 19, 2022
You’re damn near starting with the minutes you be getting
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) October 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/GodlLotus/status/1582724966281531393https://twitter.com/FastEddie577/status/1582741972149993472
Tyler Herro is a pretty important member of the Heat. While he has plenty of flaws, his consistent shooting has helped Miami’s floor spacing and they will need more of that this season if they want to get over the hump and bring home a title.
In fact, according to Herro, the Heat would have already won their fourth championship had he been healthy last playoffs.
With a loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at FTX Arena, the Heat fell just one win short of earning a trip to the NBA Finals. That’s painful enough, but Herro also had to live with the fact that he missed Games 4, 5 and 6 of the conference finals and was limited to just seven minutes of action in Game 7 because of a strained left groin.
“It was tough the way it ended,” Herro said to the Miami Herald. “I felt like if I was at the level of play I was all season last year, I think we might have a fourth championship. That motivated me.”
It is likely that Herro will join the starting lineup full-time eventually, but he shouldn’t be so eager to make that jump. As the sixth man, he has thrived and there are no guarantees things will stay that way if his role changes.
Cleary, fans don’t like his attitude about it and his comments could come back to haunt him if he failed to live up to expectations this season.
