Herro looks like a steal compared to Knicks
New York, which Miami plays on Sunday, took RJ Barrett with the third pick in the 2019 Draft. But the Heat’s Tyler Herro, who was picked 13th, is playing just as well as Barrett.
NEW YORK CITY
For all of the pain and suffering that the late 1990s Miami Heat and their fans endured at the hands of the Patrick Ewing-led Knicks, the 21st century has more than balanced the scales, with the Heat winning three championships and the Knicks sliding into a sustained irrelevance.
As the teams prepare for a Sunday 3:30 matinee at Madison Square Garden, it tells you all you need to know about where these teams stand that the Knicks — with cap space for two max players last summer — ended up with a roster now on pace to win 21 games, while the Heat — with no cap space last summer - ended up with one of the summer’s top free agents (Jimmy Butler) and a team on pace to win 58.
But what happened in the draft was pretty remarkable, too. All season, the Knicks dreamed of landing Duke’s Zion Williamson in the lottery and in winning a league-worst 17 games, assured themselves of picking no worse than fourth.
The Heat, meanwhile, was always on track to land a selection in the midteens, either as a team that barely made or missed the playoffs.
So it’s interesting that Miami, with its 13th pick, might have acquired just as good a player in the draft as the Knicks, who chose third.
While it’s too soon to know what the Knicks’ RJ Barrett or the Heat’s Tyler Herro ultimately will become, this
much is clear: Herro has been the slightly better player of the two rookie shooting guards, factoring in efficiency.
“My game has really translated, my skill set,” Herro said, speaking only of himself.
Barrett, who has started all 38 games as a rookie, is averaging 13.8 points (or 15.8 per 36 minutes), 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 38.9 percent overall and 30.5 percent on threes.
Herro, who has come off the bench in 34 of his 37 appearances, is averaging 13.4 points (but 16.8 per 36), 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists but shooting better than Barrett — 41.7 percent overall and 38.5 percent on threes.
Herro is holding players he’s guarding to 46.3 percent shooting, better defensively than Barrett’s 47.4. Herro commits 1.8 turnovers per game, compared with Barrett’s 2.3.
It obviously helps that Herro plays with a better team.
Coincidentally, Barrett and Herro began their college careers in the same game last season, a 118-84 Duke romp against Kentucky in Indianapolis. Barrett scored 33 (13 for 26 shooting), while Herro had 14, going 4 for 11.
In their first pro matchup, Herro was much better, scoring 12 in a Heat win, while Barrett slogged through a 1-for-10, twopoint night.
“We played high school together a little bit in different All Star games,” Herro said. “He’s a great player. Hope he has a lot of success in this league.”
Herro said he doesn’t pay attention to statistics of any of the top rookies, but “I just know what me and Kendrick Nunn got going on. I think I’m one of the best rookies in this class for sure. Obviously there’s a lot of great rookies with Ja Morant and RJ. The list goes on. But I feel we have two of the best rookies.”
Herro, who turns 20 on Jan. 20, also has a clear edge over Barrett is the clutch, defined by the NBA as the final five minutes of games with a margin of five points or fewer. Herro is shooting 10 for 19 overall and 7 for 13 on threes in the clutch, with 29 points in 42 minutes.
Barrett, in the clutch, is 9 for 25 overall and 2 for 7 on threes, with 28 points in 67 clutch minutes.
“It’s surprising,” Heat forward Kelly Olynyk said of a 19-year-old having that type of poise to take and make big late-game shots. “He has that in his DNA. He’s a trained killer and he’s going out there and killing.”
Still, ESPN analyst Amin Elhassan said in his view, “Barrett is still the better prospect, mainly because his ceiling is much higher. If he had been drafted by the Heat and Herro had been a Knick, I think you’d see much different players.”
DEFENSIVE ISSUES
After Friday’s 117-113 loss in Brooklyn, the Heat’s defensive rating has slipped to 13th in the league, with Miami allowing 107 points per 100 possessions.
One problem is the Heat is defending in the basket area far less effectively than a year ago. Teams are shooting a league-high 64.7 percent against the Heat on shots taken less than five feet away from the basket.
Last season, with Hassan Whiteside offering rim deterrence, teams shot 56.7 percent against Miami from less than five feet, which was second best in the NBA from a defensive standpoint.
Players guarded by starting center Meyers Leonard are shooting 49.1 percent, 11th highest among centers who have played at least 30 games.
Spoelstra called the team’s defense against Brooklyn “pretty ridiculously poor.”
Jimmy Butler, taking stock of Miami’s 10-10 road record (compared with 17-1 at home), said: “We just need to do better. I don’t know what it is. I think we get comfortable we’re a good team, start overlooking individuals, teams as a whole. Good teams don’t do that. Good teams handle business home and away. If our starters don’t set the tone like we’re supposed to do, it will end like that a lot of times.”