The end of season press conference happened a few days ago on June 6th for the 2021-22 season of Miami Heat basketball. He covered quite a bit in this press conference, so we will just react to the three most important points. Here is what we think about the most critical points from Pat Riley’s end-of-season press conference.
Tyler Herro Needs to Develop into a Two-Way Player
Tyler Herro made great strides in his offensive game this season, as we saw. He improved his passing and got better at finishing at the basket. However, Tyler Herro is still a defensive liability and that remained clear throughout the playoffs. When asked about Herro, Pat Riley said, “The next step for him, if you want to win a championship and you want to be a starter, you really have to become a two-way player today.”
We understand where Pat Riley is coming from on this topic. We would love to see Tyler Herro improve on defense. However, Herro is almost certainly going to start next season, regardless of his defensive deficiencies. It is also important to recognize that as a shorter guard with a negative wingspan, Herro doesn’t have many physical tools to be a good defender. His offensive improvement warrants a starting spot.
End of Season Press Conference: Bam Needs to Be More Aggressive Consistently
Bam Adebayo has developed into one of the best defensive players in the entire NBA. He has also certainly improved offensively, as well. However, as Riley said, Bam has to be more aggressive on offense consistently. Riley said the following about Bam: “This could be a year, and Spo and I will sit down and talk about it. About how to improve getting Bam 15 shots a night.” We saw a lack of aggressiveness at times from Bam in the post-season.
Bam’s points per game decreased from 19.1 in the regular season to 14.8 in the post-season. Bam certainly needs to assert himself more on offense in the playoffs. Hopefully, Bam can continue to work on his offensive game in the off-season and come out more aggressive next season.
The Heat Will Look to Improve This Off-Season
As expected, Pat Riley made it very clear that the Heat will try to improve this off-season. Specifically, Riley said, “We’re always going to try to improve the team.” This seems to indicate that the Heat will make a major move this off-season. Given his contract and performance in the playoffs, this could mean trading Duncan Robinson. The Heat definitely need more to solidify themselves as a championship contender.
Zach Lavine could be a potential target for the Miami Heat. He would certainly improve the team’s offense and he is a good two-way player when locked in, as well. We would be happy to see him in a Heat jersey next season. In any case, it is good to know that the Heat will make moves this off-season.
It Was An Interesting End of Season Press Conference
There is plenty to be optimistic about in this press conference. Riley’s commitment to improve the team is encouraging after the Heat lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. We should also expect a significant move by Miami this off-season. You can also bet on how many wins you think the Heat will get next season. Check back in for more coverage of the Miami Heat’s off-season soon.