Tyler Herro lives up to his name: Leads Miami Heat to 8th seed with win over Chicago Bulls

The shorthanded Miami Heat were without superstar Jimmy Butler in this important game, but they were still able to come out on top with a 112-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya Center behind the heroics of Tyler Herro. The team from South Beach have clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and will face the Boston Celtics in the first round.

The former Sixth Man of the Year nearly recorded a triple-double for the Heat as he finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists with 4 makes from downtown. Herro stepped up in this win or go home game without their leader. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. wasn't scared of the moment as he had 21 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists. Bam Adebayo contributed 13 points with 2 blocks while veteran Kevin Love provided 16 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with a team-high 22 points with 3 triples. Nikola Vucevic recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists while the star in the last play-in game, Coby White, struggled with just 13 points on 31% shooting. Breakout guard Ayo Dosunmu also had a rough night with 10 points on 20% shooting but he also contributed 3 steals and 2 blocks on the defensive end. Javonte Green provided a spark off the bench with his 12 points on 5/6 shooting.

Miami sneaks into the playoffs once again as an 8th seed for the second consecutive year. Despite being the last team to make the postseason they have proven that they are capable of making a Finals run so they are always a difficult matchup.

They will go against the top seeded Celtics in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Finals. Boston will look for revenge while the Heat look to make another deep run. It will be difficult for the reigning Eastern Conference champs this time around without Playoff Jimmy but it should still be an entertaining series.

Chicago will now head into the offseason with questions they need to address. The elephant in the room is what will happen to their star DeMar DeRozan as he is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Will the 6-time All-Star stay in the Windy City or he will move on to a different team?

There are also questions about which direction they plan to go, whether that's continuing to compete with their current roster or tear things down and rebuild around the emerging guards of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. It will be interesting to see what this team looks like heading into the 2024-25 season.