How Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro’s close relationship developed, and how it’s helping Herro
Before rookie Tyler Herro left the Heat locker room Sunday, he walked over to Jimmy Butler for a quick handshake.
That’s the type of respect Herro has for the 30-year-old Butler. But the surprising part of their relationship is Butler, the Heat’s four-time All-Star, has just as much respect for the 19-year-old Herro.
“We got a lot in common, to tell you the truth,” Butler said of Herro. “But more than anything, I just respect the way that he works and the way that he carries himself.
“It’s not when I met him, it’s what everybody else had said about him. If you constantly have people in this organization saying, ‘This kid, he works. He’s going to be good. A tough little son of a gun.’ I was like, ‘OK, let’s see.’ Then whenever we meet, it is that. He’s like, ‘Yo, let’s get in the gym, let’s get in the gym, let’s get in the gym.’ I’m like, ‘I’m with it.’ You’ll never hear me complain about not working. Ever since then, I’m happy for him, I’m proud of him and I want him to be the best player he can possibly be.”
That mutual respect and trust produced clutch moments and clutch shots late in Sunday’s Heat overtime win over the Bulls at AmericanAirlines Arena. With Chicago sending multiple defenders at Butler every time he drove into the paint down the stretch of the game, Butler assisted on four of Herro’s five made shots over the final 6:13 of Miami’s overtime victory.
Herro scored 16 of the Heat’s final 18 points of the game, including 11 of the team’s 13 overtime points. He was 4 of 5 on threes during that time, with most of those shots wide open because of the attention Butler was drawing when he had the ball.
Herro finished with a game-high 27 points with the help of 5-of-11 shooting on threes, six rebounds and three assists.
“Look, if your max player trusts you at that point in the game, and Jimmy was looking for him, that says all you need to know,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat (17-6) moving on to host the Hawks (6-17) on Tuesday. “That trust has been earned within our walls, and Jimmy has seen what this kid does in those situations. It’s not just about the make. He’s shooting it in rhythm, confidently taking it and you live with the results, whatever that is. So you see it, you can’t really define it. You just see it in Tyler day after day.”
When it comes to two-man combinations, the Butler-Herro duo has posted the second-best plus/minus on the team this season at plus-96. The only one that has been better is the Butler-Bam Adebayo tandem at plus-110.
While Herro ranks fourth on the Heat with an individual plus/minus of plus-61 this season, he’s a minus-35 when Butler is not on the court with him.
How did Herro, who was selected by the Heat with the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, earn Butler’s trust in such a short time?
“I think a combination of different things,” Herro said. “Just coming in every day with the same attitude and being there for the vets, whatever they need is one thing. And then just coming in, working hard and showing that I can hang around and prove myself.”
For Butler, a lot of that trust stems from what he has seen Herro do behind the scenes.
“I’ve seen Tyler shoot and make those shots over and over again in practice, after practice,” Butler said. “In the game, it’s easy, you take what the defense gives you. Hell, he was so wide open and he had it going. We need him to play like that. He’s big for us as of late. When it comes to handling the ball and making shots, you would think he has been in this league for more than a couple months.”
From offseason workouts in Chicago before Herro had even played in an NBA game, to the #tylertuesday social media campaign Butler jokingly created, to meeting each other’s families. The two have developed a close relationship despite an 11-year age gap.
“Off the court, we joke around a lot. On the court, I really look up to him,” Herro said. “Everything he does, I see. I just try to adjust because at the same time, I’m playing with him. But he sets me up in a lot of good spots. He yells at me, which I like because he gets me going a lot of the time.”
Butler even started a texting relationship with Herro’s 12-year-old brother, Myles. Butler recently posted a photo on his Instagram posing next to Myles, with the caption: “tell me a better DUO!! I’ll wait ...”
“They text and do their thing,” Herro said with a smile. “My youngest brother, he’s only 12. He loves it.”
Herro loves his relationship with Butler, too.
“It just adds confidence to how confident I already am. He definitely helps you out,” Herro said. “I even went to his house a couple times. Definitely, it’s more than just a basketball relationship.”
▪ The Heat has ruled out Goran Dragic (strained right groin) and Justise Winslow (strained lower back) for Tuesday’s game against the Hawks.
Adebayo (right groin contusion), Dion Waiters (sick) and KZ Okpala (strained left Achilles) are listed as questionable for the contest.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 11:39 AM.
