A look at Herro’s efficient start, and an adjustment he made to his shot that’s helping
Tyler Herro wants to be known as more than just a shooter. He wants to be known as an efficient shooter.
The Heat’s first-round pick has been just that in his rookie season, as he entered Wednesday’s road game against the Rockets averaging 14.3 points while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 38 percent on threes and 82.5 percent on free throws.
Entering Wednesday, there were 11 NBA players averaging at least 14 points on at least 44 percent shooting from the field, 38 percent shooting on threes and 82 percent shooting on free throws: Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Utah’s Bojan Bogdanovic, Boston’s Gordon Hayward, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Orlando’s Evan Fournier, Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul, New Orleans’ JJ Redick, Denver’s Paul Millsap and Herro.
Herro, who was selected by the Heat with the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, is the only rookie on that list.
“That is somewhat unique for a young player,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro’s efficiency in advance of Wednesday’s game in Houston. “He’s coming in, playing with veteran guys, as well, so we’re able to keep his role simple while his game is growing behind the scenes and his confidence and all the work that he’s putting into player development.
“He’s really committed, so that helps your confidence when you know you’ve put in the time and you see actions happen that you’ve worked on numerous times, but he’s a heck of a shooter, particularly on the move and off the dribble, when he gets stuck in certain circumstances. That’s a skill set that he has really developed with a lot of hours behind the scenes.”
The biggest improvement Herro, 19, has made is in spot-up situations. Entering the season, he made it clear he was more comfortable shooting off the dribble.
But there haven’t been many better spot-up shooters than Herro to start the season. Among those who have attempted 25 or more spot-up shots, Herro entered Wednesday ranked second with a shooting percentage of 58.3 in these situations behind only San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan.
Herro is 21 of 36 on spot-up attempts, and has a league-best 81.9 effective field-goal percentage (measures field-goal percentage adjusting for made three-point shots being 1.5 times more valuable than made two-point field shots) among those with 25 or more spot-up shots.
“It’s really what we’ve been working on every morning before practice is catch and shoot,” Herro said. “Obviously, the hard work is starting to pay off. But just continue to get those reps in and expect to get even more efficient.”
Herro pointed to an adjustment he made to his shot as part of the reason he has been an efficient scorer in his first NBA season. Heat shooting coach/player development coach Rob Fodor suggested the adjustment, which has Herro shooting the ball from his right hip rather than his left hip.
“It has really helped me,” said Herro, who is right-handed. “It plays a big role on how efficient I am. If the ball is coming from the left, it’s less efficient body movement wise.”
Jimmy’s decision
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Heat wing Jimmy Butler further explained his free agent decision to join the Heat rather than team up with another star elsewhere.
“The group of individuals that I work with outside of the Miami Heat organization, we sat down and talked about it and we came to the conclusion like you know what, Miami is going to be the spot,” Butler said to Yahoo Sports. “Then when you talk about the organization, like the organization lets me be me to a T and they love it.
“Coach Pat [Riley], he’s me times 10. He’s straight to the point, doesn’t care how he says it. But you know what he’s trying to say and you know he wants to help you and you know that he wants to win. If I got to pick, I’m going to pick somewhere I’m going to be happy whether you don’t like the fact that I didn’t go with a duo or a trio. I’m happy, man. Let me be happy. Just let me be happy. There’s a fine line in between the two. Right now, I’m happy and we are winning.”
Injury update
Butler was ruled out for Wednesday’s game against the Rockets because of an illness.
“He is wiped out,” Spoelstra said after Wednesday morning’s shootaround session. “He’s totally out of it this morning. Very similar to what Goran [Dragic] had. So we’ll make do.”
Dragic missed the Heat’s win over the Pelicans on Nov. 16 with a sinus infection.
Forwards Justise Winslow and James Johnson are expected to be available against the Rockets. Winslow missed the previous nine games with a concussion, and Johnson was not available for Monday’s win over the Hornets because of an illness.
Derrick Jones Jr. (strained left hip), KZ Okpala (strained left Achilles) and Dion Waiters (team suspension) were ruled out.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 2:25 PM.
