There are a couple of similarities between Tyler Herro and Kobe Bryant. They were both doubted, both of them were drafted with the 13th overall pick, and both came off the bench during his rookie year but rose to the occasion once they had a chance to prove their worth.
It’s likely that Tyler Herro has dreamed about tying or breaking Kobe Bryant’s records in the NBA, let alone the NBA Finals. However, it seems like you have to be careful what you wish for, as it may not turn out the way you wanted.
Herro wasn’t his usual self during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat rookie managed to score double-digits but took him a lot of shots, and was a huge liability in the defensive end vs. the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tyler Herro Ties Worst Kobe Bryant For Worst Plus/Minus In NBA Finals History
Sadly for him, Tyler Herro ended his night with 14 points on 6/18 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers in 30 minutes. However, the stat that stood out from the rest was his terrible plus/minus of -35.
That’s tied for the worst plus/minus in NBA Finals history and the lowest since Kobe Bryant posted the same number in the 2000 NBA Finals. If there’s something positive to take out of it, that was also Kobe’s first trip to the Finals and he ended up winning the ring.
This time, however, Herro is bound to have quite a tough time trying to replicate the Black Mamba’s success, as the Lakers look stronger, more focused, and simply overpowered. Also, Goran Dragic will miss the remainder of the series and Bam Adebayo is pretty banged-up with an injury.
Some growing pains are expected from rookies and there’s no shame in that. Herro has been great for Miami all year long and came through big time in the playoffs. This will definitely be an invaluable developing experience for him.
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