Emotions run high in any sport, even more so in the NBA. While the playoffs are still very far away, even the preseason brings the drama and intensity of playoff battles. Fights and arguments are not exclusive to the players, the coaches, or other staff. Fans often go to the extent of using violence to show support for their beloved teams and prove themselves. That’s exactly what happened today. 

The Miami Heat hosted the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, the first preseason game on the road for the Spurs. The home side beat them to claim their second win of the preseason. With this victory, the atmosphere at Kaseya Center was lively, but not for long… 

After the match, Tyler Herro, the Heat Point Guard, was in conversation with one of the reporters but couldn’t focus on the questions being asked. The reason was that a fight broke out in the stands and the hooper was amused by it! “I’m sorry, I’m distracted by a fight up there. This is crazy,” said Herro after stopping midway through his answer.

To which the reporter replied, “Well hopefully that breaks up soon”. The hooper laughed and even shifted his focus to keep track of the fight! They had to cut the interview short. While stepping away, Herro smiles at someone off-camera and says, “This is crazy.”

While the Heat may have added a lot of offensive firepower in the hope of creating a top-heavy unit, they still need clutch players who can turn the tide in their favor in a high-pressure situation. Their former coach, Stan Van Gundy, feels the Miami side might not make it too far into the postseason.

“They didn’t have a great team, and they didn’t have a great year. That’s not a very good roster. To me, that’s a play-in roster again,” the coach said. While the future is uncertain, the Heat’s hope of a championship seems bleak. But what are the positives?

The partnership of Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier in the backcourt looks promising

The Heat have lacked offensive firepower in the guard position. But with the arrival of Terry Hozier from the Charlotte Hornets last season, they look to fill that gap. Tyler Herro, a key piece in the roster of the Heat, is a three-level scorer who can don the role of the playmaker for himself and his teammates. With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Miami side wanted to add this duo into the backcourt for additional support. But with both players suffering injuries late last season, their plans were postponed.

Terry Rozier takes on the point guard role with some on-ball responsibilities, allowing Tyler Herro to play off the ball more, something he is eager to embrace. “It’s probably my first season, besides my rookie year, where I’ve kind of don’t have as many ball-handling duties as I have in the past. Obviously, I love having the ball in my hands. Being able to kind of flow into that is going to be easier on me. It’ll me more efficient in my game. Playing off Terry, playing off Jimmy and Bam, not necessarily having to be the main guard handling the ball,” said Herro on Tuesday.

Now, with Rozier and Herro being completely healthy, it has kick-started the Heat’s plan once again. Tyler Herro now has the chance to take on a dedicated shooting role. This season’s roster is one of the deepest they’ve had in several years.

With a point guard in place, each player can play in their natural position. The dynamic between the two, Rozier and Herro, has raised doubts among many because of some overlap in their offensive styles, effectively reducing the versatility. Despite this, they remain focused on playing together and effectively complementing each other, which they demonstrated in the team’s 2nd preseason victory.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.