After losing in the 7-vs-8 Play-In Tournament game, the Heat are down but not out. As they gear up for their last opportunity to qualify for the NBA Playoffs, however, the team is at the center of an internet meme.
In its loss to Philadelphia, Miami saw star forward Jimmy Butler suffer a knee injury that proved to be serious while up-and-coming star Tyler Herro had a night to forget as he finished with 25 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field. Herro’s struggles were the root of a rumor that he and Butler had an altercation following the loss.
Is the rumor true? Here’s what you need to know about the claim that the Heat’s stars nearly came to blows on the team bus.
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Did Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro fight on the Heat team bus?
No, Butler and Herro did not fight on Miami’s team bus.
Ira Winderman, who covers the Heat for The Sun-Sentinel, shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) and addressed the story, though he did not explicitly mention a fight. Winderman addressed the fact that he was credited as the source of the unfounded rumor.
“To all those who are too gullible, and choose to believe anything, the post that attached my Twitter account name to it was from a parody site that says it is a parody site. Geez,” Winderman posted Friday morning.
That settles that.
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What is the Jimmy Butler-Tyler Herro bus story?
On April 17, parody account @TheHoopCentel alleged that Butler and Herro needed to be separated on Miami’s team bus following its Play-In loss to Philadelphia.
The story alleges that Butler referenced Herro’s poor shooting by repeatedly saying “9 for 27,” causing Herro to throw a punch that did not connect. The story continues, adding that after the missed punch, Butler wittily responded “9 for 28” to indicate that Herro had missed again.
The account sourced Winderman in an apparent attempt to make the story seem more legitimate.
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What is HoopCentel?
HoopCentel is a parody account that was created as a play on Hoop Central, a legitimate basketball aggregation account that has amassed over one million followers.
The account has gained traction as it intentionally bears similarity to a legitimate basketball news account with a similar name. Despite the misleading nature of its profile picture and username, HoopCentel has “PARODY/FAN ACCOUNT” listed as its location.
Kevin Durant recently called out fans for believing the types of parody content that comes from the HoopCentel account.
Tyler Herro stats without Jimmy Butler
If the Heat are to achieve any success this postseason, it will be without Butler. Miami’s franchise player is out with an MCL injury and Herro is one of the players that will be expected to step up in his absence.
Here are some advanced numbers to give an idea of what to expect from Herro when he isn’t playing alongside Butler, per John Jablonka of the Miami Heat Beat:
| With Butler | Without Butler | |
| Points/75 poss. | 27.3 | 20.4 |
| eFG% | 63.3 | 41.8 |
| Usage% | 28 | 29 |
| Assists/75 poss. | 4.7 | 5 |
| 2pt% (ast%) | 55(38) | 38.6(41) |
| 3pt% | 50(81) | 31(66) |
| Rim freq% | 17.7 | 9.6 |
| Short mid freq% | 26.9 | 26 |
| Long mid freq% | 15.2 | 24.6 |
