Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
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.”