Washington Wizards: How did Rui Hachmiura’s first NBA game compare to the other rookies?
By Max Rayman
Tyler Herro
14 points. Two steals. One assist. Eight rebounds. 6-14 fg, 1-4 3pt.
The Miami Heat were lambasted when they drafted guard Tyler Herro out of Kentucky with the 13th pick in the draft. Tyler who?!
Herro went on to light up the Summer League and preseason as he showed promise as a smooth sharpshooter with a whole lot of confidence. Herro started his NBA career with a solid performance against the Memphis Grizzlies as he filled the stat sheet. The rookie dropped 14 points, with eight rebounds, an assists, and two steals.
The highlight of the night came when Herro made Grayson Allen fall with relative ease. Miami’s twitter account tweeted out the highlight.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1187183462970773506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1187183462970773506&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jsonline.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fnba%2Fbucks%2F2019%2F10%2F24%2Ftyler-herro-makes-nba-debut-mercilessly-fakes-out-grayson-allen%2F4082660002%2F
Grayson Allen is seen as a villain in the league after being known for tripping players numerous times during his career at Duke. So some saw this as justice after Herro embarrassed him.
At the very least, it shows how Herro is dangerous with the ball and off the ball. That will add another role player to help out Jimmy Butler, who has already seemed to grow fond of his rookie teammate.
Washington Wizards: Rui Hachimura drops double-double in NBA debut. dark. Next
Overall, Hachimura didn’t have the best debut performance out of his draft class, but he wasn’t left behind. While yes, he was outscored by PJ Washington and didn’t have as balanced a stat sheet as Barret, he was able to perform to his strengths. His excellent game on the boards is proof of that.
Hachimura showed that he won’t be outdone and will rise to meet the competition. The rookies showed that their draft class has plenty of upside. These young guns should be fun all season.