Herro’s passing fancy
Rookie steps into quarterback room, then shows a bit of his Mahomes
With circumstances changed in an already unusual circumstance, Tyler Herro found himself in a different place Friday.
A place where Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady sit — the quarterbacks’ room.
“It was basically quarterback-read training,” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the session, “and learning how to make the appropriate play when defenses step up their pressure. And just to understand which reads he has.”
With the Heat lacking Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn, it was time for a bucketgetter to learn how to get teammates more involved.
The result was a careerhigh 10 assists and a careerfirst double-double.
Granted, the overall result was less than expected, a 119-112 Saturday loss to the surging Phoenix Suns. But given all the mitigating factors, including playing basketball in a quarantine “bubble” type of setup at Disney World, it was a step forward for the rookie guard out of Kentucky.
“Basically,” Spoelstra said, “he was playing point guard for us, and I thought he did a solid job. He’ll continue to get better.”
With Butler and Dragic expected back for Monday’s 8 p.m. playoff-seeding showdown with the Indiana Pacers at the Wide World of Sports complex, scoring again likely will stand as the priority for Herro, who rounded out Saturday’s effort with 25 points and eight rebounds.
But the Suns game offered a hint of what might be ahead, with Dragic now 34 and the Heat lacking another true point guard on the roster.
“I felt comfortable,” Herro, 20, said. “I’ve been working with the ball in my hands really since the beginning of the season. And now, in the bubble, I’ve [been] working really hard with the ball in my hands.
“Coach has been helping me a lot. My teammates are starting to trust me more. I’m still young and I’m learning a lot. I have a lot of good vets to help me and teach me, and walk me through things during games and after games. So I’m just continuing to learn.”
Saturday included solid chemistry with center Bam Adebayo, an encouraging sign, with the two standing as the future of the franchise. “I’d seen Tyler when he was in college,” said Adebayo, a fellow Kentucky alum. “I went to play pick-up and it’s kind of crazy how it happened, and he ended up coming here. But I have full trust in Tyler when he has the ball in his hands. He’s a scorer, but he can pass. So that’s what makes him a better threat for us.”
That chemistry, Herro said, allows him to also play as scorer, and even more as attacker.
“Obviously,” Herro said, “he’s amazing threat inside. He’s our horse, our workhouse. He does everything for us. So, when I’m getting downhill, I’m looking to make the right play to him.
“But he draws so much attention, that’s why you see the big [man] disappear sometimes and I’ll have a layup. He just draws so much attention.”
Herro drew his share of attention, statistical attention, in Thursday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, when the Heat also were without Butler and Dragic, closing with five turnovers. Saturday, he was down to two, with the ball in his hands more often while playing 35:55.
“It’s definitely a learning experience for me,” he said of being cast as point guard. “Being a natural scorer, or shooter, you know, which I came in known as, it’s kind of hard to just balance the two.
“But it’s a learning experience, knowing when to be in attack mode and then when to set guys up. So I watched the film. I’m sure I missed some guys open [Saturday]. I could have made the better play. So I’m continuing to learn. It’s all a learning experience for me.”
A complex season grew more complex Saturday night for the Miami Heat.
Playing in the absence of three leading men against a team that well could have to go undefeated at Disney World to make the playoffs, the Heat came up short 119-112 against the Phoenix Suns.
The loss left the Heat in a tie with the Indiana Pacers for the No. 4 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers.
“We got to get over this hump,” center Bam Adebayo said after the Heat fell to 2-3 in their resumption schedule at Disney, with three games remaining before the playoffs. “We’re in the gray cloud that we can’t get out of.”
The Suns, by contrast, improved to 5-0 at Disney, powered by 35 points from Devin Booker and 20 by Jevon Carter.
“We’re just having too many times where we’re high and then when we’re low energy-wise,” guard Tyler Herro said.
Playing the absences of Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn, the Heat got 25 points, a career-high 10 assists and eight rebounds from Herro, his first career double. Adebayo was nearly as complete with his stat line, with 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
The two were supported by 25 points from Duncan Robinson and 17 from Jae Crowder.
Butler missed his third consecutive game with a sore left foot, Dragic his second consecutive game with a sprained left ankle, and Nunn was away from the Disney bubble for personal reasons.
Butler and Dragic are expected back for Monday’s game against Indiana. Nunn has returned to the Disney bubble, after leaving for personal reasons, but now will have to spend at least four days in quarantine, as the NBA continues to take precautions against COVID-19 infection.
An Andre Iguodala 3-pointer with 3:26 left drew the Heat within 105-102, after they fell behind by eight with 5:49 to play. The Heat later got within 115-112 after three Robinson free throws with 31.4 seconds left. But that’s when an Adebayo goaltend with 11.2 seconds left provided the Suns with needed relief points.
“It’s on us to figure out how we can hold the lead and ride that lead out,” Adebayo said.
Five degrees from Saturday game:
1. Booker of Heat night’s
time:
Even