Bill Simmons has shown great love for the Miami Heat despite the public dismissing the team after failing to trade for Damian Lillard this offseason.
Simmons believes the Heat will be fine even though they missed out on Lillard and lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in the offseason.
Simmons also believes Tyler Herro is poised for a big season after being the subject of trade rumors all summer.
“I think Herro—I love every quote from him that I’ve read over the last couple of months—is mad because he’s been in the trade rumors all summer,” Simmons said.
“I think he’s the No. 1 guy in the league right now.”
The Heat made it to the NBA Finals last season without Herro playing most of the playoffs (he was injured in Game 1 of the first round against Milwaukee), so the team could be even better if he can stay healthy in this season.
During the 2022-23 regular season, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9% from the field and 37.8% from distance.
This is a great production and no one should overlook him as he is a past Sixth Man of the Year award winner.
If Herro can play at this level in the playoffs, Miami may not worry about losing Strus and Vincent at all.
Simmons thinks Miami’s projected win total of 44.5 games may be a little too low.
He pointed out that Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are back and that the team could have two strong young players in Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“I think this team is going to be pretty good,” Simmons added.
“I think – for me – that represents around forty years. And I didn’t even really blink.
The Heat have won at least 44 games in three of the last four seasons and won 53 in the 2021-22 season, securing first place in the Eastern Conference.
Miami has postseason success with Butler on the roster (three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and two trips to the NBA Finals in four seasons) and is considered an NBA title contender this season.
While there will certainly be criticism of Miami’s decisions this offseason, Simmons doesn’t seem to think the team will take a big step backwards during the 2023-24 season.
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