Herro doesn’t have to go great distances in breakout performance

To appreciate the depth of Tyler Herro’s game, and particularly the growth of the game of the secondyear guard, is to appreciate how he built Saturday night’s regular- season career- high 31- point performance in Washington.

In many ways, it was a shallow performance, rarely veering from anything but attack mode directly at the rim.

Of the 12 baskets by the 20- yearold in the four- point victory, one was a 3- pointer ... with the other 11 in the paint.

“He’s more than just a strictly catch- and- shoot player,” coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of Sunday ’s postponed game in Boston due to contact- tracing issues related to Heat testing for coronavirus. “He’s very good off the dribble. And this is something that he diligently works on every day, with his quarterback reads.

“And it’s not just finishing, but it’s making the reads on what the scheme is and where the weak side is. And that’s different coverages, based on who you’re playing. And I think he’s growing leaps and bounds with that. But that just shows you that it’s not just about the shooting with him.”

Officially, Herro was credited by the NBA with shooting 3 of 4 at the rim, 7 of 9 in the paint ( but beyond the four- foot restricted area), 1 of 2 from midrange, plus his 1 of 5 on 3- pointers. His longest conversions, other than his lone 3- pointer, were a pair of seven- foot shots.

“I feel like I’m a complete player, on the offensive end for sure,” he said, as the Heat await league guidance to see when they play next. “I feel like I can make plays, finish around the rim. But I think I’ve tried to add everything and just to improve in the offseason and even during the season. I just try to continue to get better.

“There’s still work to be done obviously.”

As could be expected, Spoelstra has insisted that discussion and deliberation about Herro go beyond his shooting and scoring. Saturday, for example, not only did he lead the Heat with his eight free- throw attempts, but he also closed with nine rebounds, as part of the Heat’s 61- 39 dominance on the boards.

“Each game is different,” Spoelstra said. “I think this is part of maybe the education of people, fans or whoever out there. Tyler has been growing. It’s just a shame people will only look at that final column to see whether he’s made a big jump.

“He’s made significant jumps in his defense, when we had him guard Brandon Ingram one game, had him guard Jayson Tatum another game. It shows you how far he’s come defensively. He’s had 15 rebounds in a game. He’s making much better reads on different coverages, where it’s not always just the shot, but it’s making plays for others. I think his game is growing.”

While the 31 points were Herro’s scoring high during the regular season, his overall high remains the 37 he scored in the Heat’s Game 4 victory over the Celtics in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

But, like Spoelstra, he said measure has to be taken from more than the scoring.

“I’m just still trying to figure it out,” the 2019 first- round pick out of Kentucky said. “Some nights I try to play- make and some nights it’s my time to be aggressive. Not every night’s going to be the same night. This team has a very deep roster, and any given night, anyone can score. So I’m not really worried about the numbers. I just try to go out there and just hoop.”

That hooping is eased when others step up with their ball movement, as was the case in Washington, when Jimmy Butler had nine assists, Goran Dragic and Kelly Olynyk five apiece, and Bam Adebayo four.

“I think the most important thing is that he’s playing with Jimmy,” Dragic said of Herro’s move into the starting lineup. “Jimmy is the guy who can create in that unit, and Bam of course. And then, Tyler just needs to be him. We know he can score the ball.

“We want him to develop that thing to organize for other people, but he’s got time.”