The legend of Tyler Herro seems to be growing with every game that passes. His rise into stardom has been fun to watch in the NBA bubble. The one time he might have ruffled some feathers would have been in Game 3 of the NBA Finals when he gave a snare to the camera after he sunk a clutch 3-pointer. Albeit, he didn’t have a great shooting day in that game but he was there when his team needed him.
I personally don’t mind the snare. Tyler Herro is 20 years old and he’s playing good basketball. Not great, but good. And that’s all that should be expected from him. It’s the NBA Finals, let all the players have their fun. It’s not like players from the Lakers don’t celebrate from time to time. And I’m not even talking about their star players, I’m talking about players like Kyle Kuzma. So let them have their fun, I think they’ve all earned it and it’s good entertainment.
However, I digress. Tyler Herro cemented himself as a hero to many who are into the sports betting world. The Miami Heat entered Game 4 as +7 underdogs. For those of you not familiar with betting terminology, that means the Heat could lose by 6 for you to win you bet, lose by 7 to get your money back and lose by 8 or more to lose your money. As the time was winding down under a minute left, the Lakers took a commanding lead. And this… This is where our story begins.
Heading into the Last Minute of Game 4
01:00
Tyler Herro just missed a difficult jump shot that would have brought the Heat within 4 points of the Lakers. Anthony Davis grabs the rebound and heads down the court with time winding down. Statistically, this is where the Heat lost the game. All the Lakers had to do was hold the ball for 24 seconds to bring the clock down to 38 seconds meaning that Heat would have to make 1 stop and 1 steal and sink 2 3-pointers. It just seemed unlikely at this point. But there was still a chance so it’s not really garbage time yet. Again for those of you that don’t know betting terminology, garbage time means the time left on the clock when there is basically 0 chance to change the outcome of the game.
0:59 – 0:39
Rondo holds the ball for the Lakers as he lets the shot clock wind down. Anthony Davis comes for the pick-and-roll to give Rondo some space to make a play. Rondo charges the paint but dishes it out to Davis who is now behind the arc. Davis works his defender with 5 seconds on the shot clock. The defender never closes in on him so Davis shots the 3 and sinks the dagger in the Heat’s chances. We now enter garbage time.
Enter Garbage Time
0:38 – 0:31
The Heat have no real chance of winning anymore so there wasn’t the same excitement anymore, unless you put some money on the spread. For the betting community, this was as intense as it gets. The Lakers are leading by 9 with 38 seconds to go which means that Lakers bettors were finally covering the spread. The whole game Heat bettors were leading but as time was fading away, Lakers bettors stood to win.
The Heat inbound the ball and after a few seconds of ball movement by the Heat, Tyler Herro finds Jimmy Butler in the paint and Butler gets the dunk. This now puts the Lakers lead to 7. No one wins money, no one loses money. That’s fair right?
0:30 – 0:25
Lakers inbound the ball with the Heat players pressing hard to get a steal. The ball finds its way to Anthony Davis who throws it away at half-court. One could argue that this is the real moment things went south for Lakers bettors but I don’t think so. It did keep the Heat in the game for a few more seconds. The error gave them a ray of hope to salvage a win but still seemed very unlikely.
Last Chance for Heat
0:24 – 0:20
Heat inbound immediately Butler goes for a layup, only to be blocked by Anthony Davis at the rim! This is a vital play by Davis for the Lakers bettors. The block kept the Lakers’ lead at 7 and it gave them possession with 20 seconds to go. The fate of the Lakers bettors were now in the hands of the Lakers.
0:19 – 0:11
Lakers pass the ball down the court and for a split second there was hope for both Heat and Lakers bettors. LeBron had the ball and stood at half-court. It was a sign that the game was over and that he just wanted to let the clock wind down to end the game. And at this point, the game was over. Heat had no chance to win. BUT ROBINSON GOES IN FOR THE FOUL TO SEND LEBRON TO THE FREE-THROW LINE WITH 11 SECONDS TO GO!
0:10
LeBron is at the free-throw line sinking both shots. The Lakers’ lead is now 9. At this point the Lakers bettors are ecstatic and the Heat bettors are in disbelief. They were about to lose all their money when they were in the position to at least get their money back. Robinson was to blame. How could he do this to the Heat fans? How dare he try to win the game no matter how unlikely it is?
0:09 – 0:00
A Herro is Born
Heat inbound and head down the court. Some of their players seem out of it already, and understandably so. The ball is in the hands of Butler who hands it to Tyler Herro behind the arc and sets a screen for him with 3 seconds to go. I mean why even bother right? But HERRO STOPS ON A DIME TO TRY TO GET CONTACT FROM RONDO! THIS GUY IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO FOR IT? HE DOESN’T GET THE CONTACT AND RONDO FALLS TRYING TO AVOID BUMPING INTO HIM. HERRO TAKES A SMALL STEP FORWARD TO SET HIMSELF FOR THE SHOT. HE GETS IT OFF WITH 2 SECONDS TO GO OVER ANTHONY DAVIS! THE SHOT LOOKS GOOD AND HE NAILS IT WITH 1.1 SECONDS LEFT! THE LEAD IS NOW 6 AND THE HEAT COVER! TYLER HERRO SAVES THE HEAT BETTORS WITH THE FINAL, MEANINGLESS, SHOT OF THE GAME.