Miami, FL
Luka Doncic’s Two-Way Criticism Should Motivate Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro
The last place Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro expected to find motivation was from the failures of one of the NBA’s top superstars.
But that’s exactly what’s happening.
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic is finding himself the victim of heavy criticism due to a lack of success as a two-way player. He’s not known for strong play on defense, but the NBA Finals are exposing how much of a weakness it is.
Herro’s defense is considered his biggest flaw despite improvements in recent years. He’s no stranger to offensive inconsistencies, but a jump on the other end could negate shooting woes. A lack of discipline plays a part in the struggles. He’s often caught out of position, leaving his teammates to overhelp. Opponents shot more than 44 percent when guarded by Herro last season.
Doncic has a significantly larger frame at 6-foot-7, 230 pounds (compared to the Heat guard’s 6-foot-5, 195 pounds), which is why his flaws are often hidden. However, the dynamic skillsets of Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are bringing the problem to light. Herro faced similar issues against Tatum and Brown in their first round gentleman’s sweep.
Sports personality Colin Cowherd is among those pointing to Doncic’s defensive woes as a reason the Mavs are trailing the Celtics 3-0.
“Your legacy is largely framed by Finals and Western Conference Finals. This is going to stick to him. He was atrocious defensively in these Finals,” Cowherd said. “My comp to him is he’s a better Carmelo Anthony. I don’t think he’s in great shape, I don’t think he’s easy to play with [and] I don’t think he’s committed on the defensive end.”
Whether Herro decides to focus on defense or his shooting inconsistencies will become apparent at the start of next season, but regardless, his name will likely remain in trade rumors.
Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.
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Should the CFP committee rethink the playoff schedule format?
Extended breaks and logistical challenges have reopened questions about whether the College Football Playoff committee should adjust the playoff schedule format.
Mississippi football’s Nick Cull avoided an ejection during the College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Thursday, Jan. 8.
As Malachi Toney reeled in a catch from Carson Beck at the Miami 49 in the first quarter, he was hit by Cull in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Right away, the officials flagged Cull for targeting, with both Toney and Cull staying down on the field with an injury.
After officials reviewed the play, the call on the field was overturned, as the officials determined that Cull did not launch and the collision seemed to be incidental. Replay assistant Matt Austin concurred with the call on the field.
The play had a major impact on the game as well. If the call had been upheld, Miami would have had the ball at the Ole Miss 34-yard line with a chance to expand its 3-0 lead. However, a few plays later, the Hurricanes were forced to punt from the 49-yard line.
On the first play of the second quarter, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacey scored on a 73-yard run to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead.
Because he was not called for targeting, Cull was not ejected from the game, which means Ole Miss will have him for the remainder of the game, if he can clear the concussion protocol. He was in the tent following the play.
Cull has 15 total tackles and three pass deflections this season for the Rebels.
Meanwhile, Toney went to the medical tent briefly for the Hurricanes, but returned to the game.
A crash involving an unmarked Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office vehicle was reported in Northwest Miami-Dade on Thursday morning, and the morning commute was impacted as a result.
Few details have been released, but the crash was reported in the area of Northwest 79th street and Interstate 95.
Video from the scene showed that the vehicles had heavy damage.
The sheriff’s office said the crash also involved a civilian vehicle, and no injuries were reported.
No other information was released.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that guard Anthony Edwards is now available to play in Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat after originally being listed as questionable with right foot injury maintenance.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Tyler Herro: Available – Toe
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: Out – Ankle
Nikola Jovic: Available – Groin
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
TIMBERWOLVES
Anthony Edwards: Available – Foot
Terrence Shannon Jr.: Out – Foot
Joan Beringer: Out – G League
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. EST, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV: TV: Peacock,
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida) 100.3 FM (Minnesota)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (20-16) and Minnesota Timberwolves (23-13) meet for the second and final regular season matchup after just facing off three days ago with Minnesota recording a, 125-115, win in Miami on January 3. The teams split the series, 1-1, last season with each squad winning on the road. The Heat are 36-35 all-time versus Minnesota during the regular season,
including 19-16 in home games and 17-19 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Norman Powell
F Andrew Wiggins
TIMBERWOLVES
G Donte DiVincenzo
G Anthony Edwards
C Rudy Gobert
F Jaden McDaniels
F Julius Randle
Spread: Heat +5.5 (-112), Timberwolves -5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: Heat +166, Timberwolves -198
Total points scored: 239.5 (over -106, under -114)
QUOTABLE
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra on the forced turnovers: “That is and has to be our identity. We have to play with a recklessness and activity level that exceeds our opponent, and thats not to put down our talent level or anything like that, it’s more about we look different when we’re flying around and making plays and making it tough for the opponent.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
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