Herro on joining Bam at All-Star Weekend: ‘It’s leaning into the future a little bit’
The Heat will be represented at All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City by what appears to be its future.
Bam Adebayo, 25, will take part in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game and Tyler Herro, 23, will take part in Saturday’s Three-Point Contest. Adebayo is in the middle of the second year of his five-year, $163 million max extension with the Heat, and Herro begins his four-year extension that could be worth as much as $130 million total next season.
“It’s cool. I just want to be there. Be there with Bam,” Herro told the Miami Herald ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, which marks the end of the Heat’s pre-All-Star break schedule. “I think it’s a good opportunity just to participate in All-Star Weekend, and then hopefully be an All-Star one day.”
This isn’t Adebayo’s first All-Star Weekend experience. He won the Skills Challenge and played in the All-Star Game in 2020 in Chicago.
But this marks Herro’s first appearance on that stage. He was selected to take part in the Rising Stars Game as a rookie in 2020, but a foot injury kept him out of the game.
“It will be cool just to be able to go over there and be a part of it, be a part of the weekend,” Herro said. “Try to bring some hardware home. But other than that, I’m just going to go out there and enjoy it. It gives me something to do.”
Even with Herro missing the Heat’s final two games before the break because of a left knee contusion, the plan is still for him to compete in the ThreePoint Contest as he tries to become the fifth different Heat player to win the competition.
The Heat’s former Three-Point Contest champions: Glen Rice in 1995, Jason Kapono in 2007, Daequan Cook in 2009 and James Jones in 2011. No other team in NBA history has had four or more different players win the event.
Does Herro feel pressure to join that list and continue the Heat’s success in the shooting competition?
“It’s more fun for me,” Herro said with a smile. “Just being able to go out there and enjoy it. We have a week off. Be able to enjoy some time with Bam and just being out there with my family and friends. So there’s not much pressure. Just have fun and go out there and enjoy it.”
While three-point shooting has been a big part of Herro’s game for most of his life, he doesn’t remember ever participating in a Three-Point Contest. Saturday’s would be his first, so he plans to practice “a little bit.”
“I’m going to get the little ball racks and practice just so I know how much time I have,” Herro said. “But other than that, I’m going to just shoot.”
Herro has a large group of family and friends making the trip to Utah with him for the All-Star experience. But once Herro’s job in the Three-Point Contest is done Saturday night, he’s leaving Salt Lake City to spend the rest of the break elsewhere before the Heat resumes its schedule on Feb. 24 against the Bucks in Milwaukee.
“I think it’s good. I think it’s leaning into the future a little bit,” Herro said when asked about representing the Heat at All-Star Weekend alongside Adebayo. “For him to be in All-Star, I told him I’m going to follow him soon and we’ll both be All-Stars. It’s just good to be out there and I’m really just happy for Bam.”
ADJUSTING TO THE ADJUSTMENT
With Adebayo averaging career highs in points and shot attempts this season, opponents have begun to adjust to his growing offensive game.
More teams have started to send an extra defender when Adebayo is rolling into the paint, and it’s forcing him to make quicker decisions.
“They always send a third guy now on the pick-and-roll,” said Adebayo, who entered Wednesday ranked second in the NBA in total paint points behind only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. “So it’s either catch, quick shot or kick it to the open man. There is no like I get to take my time, get in the paint. It’s more so, I got one of two options: Shoot it or pass it.”
The more Adebayo sees the extra attention, the more comfortable he’s getting in attacking it.
“You start to realize the openings you’ll get when you see it a couple times,” he said. “You start to see it enough, you start to get used to the coverage.”
IT’S COOL. I JUST WANT TO BE THERE. BE THERE WITH BAM [ADEBAYO]. I THINK IT’S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY JUST TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL-STAR WEEKEND, AND THEN HOPEFULLY BE AN ALL-STAR ONE DAY. Tyler Herro
INJURY REPORT
The Heat were without Herro (left knee contusion), Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness), Victor Oladipo (right ankle sprain) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) for Wednesday’s game against the Nets.
But the good news for the Heat is Duncan Robinson traveled with the team to Brooklyn and was upgraded to questionable for the game. Robinson has missed the last 20 games after undergoing finger surgery on Jan. 4.