Why Tyler Herro doesn’t believe quick turnaround will hurt the Heat. And practice updates
The NBA just had the shortest offseason in NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL history, according to Elias Sports. But Tyler Herro isn’t worried about the historically quick turnaround to a new season.
The Miami Heat guard is only 20 years old and entering his second NBA season, so his eagerness to begin playing again isn’t too surprising. But what is surprising is he believes his teammates feel the same way after the Heat finished two wins short of an NBA championship in a six-game Finals series that ended less than two months ago on Oct. 11.
“I think this is a group that spent the offseason motivated as hell,” Herro wrote in a piece published Tuesday by The Players’ Tribune titled “14 Things I Learned in Year One.” “This is a team that would have played the Lakers again that same night if they’d let us. So when I get asked about the shorter turnaround and all that, and how it might impact us, and if we’ll be ready? It’s like — there’s no if about it. I know we’ll be ready. We’ll be ready because we’ve been ready. We’ll be ready because we’re all putting our work in while thinking the same damn thing: Someone beat us. Good for them. That’s over now. Let’s run it back.”
But Herro used most of the The Players’ Tribune list to look back at his rookie year rather than look ahead at his second season. The Heat completed its third team practice of the 2020-21 preseason Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“Coach just knew, man,” Herro wrote, referring to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s confidence entering last season’s playoffs. “He wasn’t cocky about it, wasn’t arrogant about it. Nothing corny, no inspirational speeches. No guarantees. But when Coach talked to us before Game 1 of the Pacers series — you could just tell by the way he was carrying himself. It was that calm someone has, you know what I mean? Where it’s like….. maybe they know something you don’t. Coach just got everyone’s attention, and pointed out how there’s a path for us here. Pointed out how there’s not a team in the conference that we don’t match up well with — so why couldn’t we make a run?”
Another thing Herro learned during his rookie season? “Jimmy Butler is a winner.”
“I guess it wasn’t just me who learned that last season,” Herro wrote. “The whole world learned that. But it’s crazy to me that it took people this long. Jimmy is the No. 1 hardest worker I’ve ever been around — I mean, No. 1. Period. That’s real. Dude sweats buckets for his goals. And I think the most polite way to put this next thought is: basically, you’ve either got to be willing to match that sweat, drop for drop — or get out of the way. And Heat culture is a perfect fit for Jimmy, because now he’s leading an entire roster of guys who are all going to refuse to be outworked. Now he’s in this situation where it’s like..… Are we going to lose a game here and there? Yeah, maybe. But you’ll have to kill us first.”
Herro also offered insight into what drove him as an NBA rookie. Herro, who is known for his trademark confidence on the court, credited Heat president Pat Riley with pushing him to another level last season.
“It’s about how good I knew I was expected to be,” Herro wrote. “That’s why I think I was able to have some success last season: Because on the one hand you had me daring myself to become an All-Star. And then on this other hand, you had Pat, at the press conference where they’re introducing me as their draft pick — saying to the media I’m going to become an All-Star. Man, I loved that. I love being in a spot where not only do I expect my own greatness — I’m also part of an organization that expects greatness from me. Or just think of it this way: Would you want to be the dude who lets Pat Riley down??”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Spoelstra said Tuesday that veteran guard Goran Dragic has not been limited to start training camp despite tearing the plantar fascia in his left foot in the NBA Finals about two months ago, other than the usual limitations on veterans to begin camp.
“We don’t have him in every single rep of these practices,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a seasoned veteran, too. He knows where to plug himself into practice and when to protect himself. We haven’t had any issues with that. If it does get to a point where I have to intervene and make sure that he’s not doing too much, I will. But we already have such a history together that it just kind of works. He knows the deal, I know the deal. We’re just getting him ready for the big picture.”
▪ With 13 players returning from last season’s roster, Spoelstra said that continuity has allowed the Heat to fast track certain elements to begin camp.
“We scrimmaged and basically just ran the offensive package that we had used during the bubble,” Spoelstra said of Monday’s practice. “The young guys, new guys were probably wide eyed thinking, ‘Wow, this is intimidating.’ Having all these sets in and guys being able to just go right to it without having to drill it. I guess we’ve been able to bypass that. But we have to bring these new guys and young guys along. So when I said it before that I don’t want to skip any steps, I don’t want to just assume that everybody feels comfortable.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 4:04 PM.
