Tyler Herro didn’t instigate the beef with Darius Garland — but he sure seems ready to finish it.
During their heated first-round playoff matchup, Cavaliers guard Garland took a shot at Herro following Cleveland’s 121-112 Game 2 win on Wednesday. When asked about their game plan for beating Miami, Garland didn’t hold back.
“Pick on Tyler Herro,” he said.
Now, Herro appears locked in and looking to make a statement.
“Herro made a pointed remark, saying, ‘He doesn’t play defense, and we’ll see that in Game 3. He doesn’t play any D.’
Interestingly, Herro himself isn’t exactly a lockdown defender—partly because of the heavy offensive load he carries for Miami. Still, he manages to contribute defensively with deflections and reading passing lanes, which works well alongside Miami’s strong defensive core.
Garland shares a similar profile—offense-first with limited defensive impact—but benefits from the protection of elite defenders like Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and shot-blocker Jarrett Allen behind him. Realistically, neither has much ground to criticize the other on defense.
Offensively, Herro has had the edge so far, averaging 27.0 points to Garland’s 24.0 in the series. But it’s Cleveland that holds the 2-0 series lead, and Garland now joins the growing list of players clashing with the former Sixth Man of the Year.”