Heat’s Tyler Herro, surging since All-Star break, makes small tweak to offensive approach
Tyler Herro has taken and made a lot of tough shots for the Miami Heat this season. As a player who depends on midrange looks for a chunk of his points, his ability to hit contested shots is one of his trademark skills.
Herro, who is the front-runner for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, is averaging 8.9 shots per game this season with the closest defender within four feet, according to NBA tracking stats. Jimmy Butler is the only Heat player who has attempted more contested shots than Herro, averaging 10.1 such shots per game.
How does Herro, 22, define a bad shot for himself?
“For me, I would say just like context of game, score and time, where I’m at on the floor,” Herro said ahead of Saturday night’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, which opens a season-long seven-game homestand for the Heat. “That’s kind of how I judge or guide when I should take a shot. I think the flow of the game, if we’ve had two or three bad possessions, it’s probably not a good time for me to take another quote, unquote bad shot. Just trying to know when the right time is to be aggressive and when is the right time to make plays.”
Herro turned in another strong offensive performance in Thursday’s short-handed win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Stepping into an even bigger offensive role with Butler and Kyle Lowry unavailable, Herro finished with 27 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field, four rebounds and eight assists to just one turnover.
Herro entered Saturday averaging 25.8 points on 51.1 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent shooting from three-point range in five games since the All-Star break.
“Not necessarily. It’s about efficiency,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked if Herro is given more freedom to take tough shots than others. “It’s about making the right read. He has great instincts and a skill level for scoring. But that doesn’t mean he just has a license to shoot anything that he wants. That’s not realistic either. It’s got to be about winning basketball and efficient offensive basketball. He’s just continuing to get better with all those kind of reads and responsibilities.”
During this impressive stretch since the break, Herro is shooting 26 of 49 (53.1 percent) on shots with the closest defender within four feet. So making contested ones has been a big part of his recent surge, but there’s also been an uptick in drives and free throws.
Before the break this season, Herro averaged 11.8 drives to the basket and 3.1 free-throw attempts per game. In Herro’s first five games following the break, he has averaged a team-high 13.4 drives to the basket and that has helped him draw 5.4 free throws per game.
“He has really been assertive on his drives,” Spoelstra said. “So there’s been a lot more force to his attacks getting to the basket. That quite naturally will lead to more contact and he has a sturdier frame now from all the weight work that he has been putting in and any of those kind of extra opportunities at the free-throw line are really important for us. It really moves the needle for us when Jimmy and Bam [Adebayo], and now you add Tyler to that mix, are getting to the free-throw line. It helps us control games.”
Herro shot 10 of 10 from the foul line in Thursday’s win over the Nets. It’s the second-most free throws he has attempted in a game during his NBA career behind only his career-high of 16 free throws that he set in his rookie season.
“I think people know I’m a shooter. I shoot the ball well,” Herro said. “But I think my best thing is off the dribble, getting in the paint, attacking, getting to the midrange, getting to the rim. I think that’s what I do best. I think I’m hard to stay in front of when you’re playing the shot and then my handle gets me to where I want to go.”
The small but noticeable tweak to Herro’s offensive approach came after noticing missed opportunities while watching film.
“A lot of the mismatches I was drawing, I would break my defender down and I would try to get to the midrange,” he said. “I think going at 7-footers when they’re chasing me from behind, it’s a tough shot. So just trying to get all the way to the rim, get into their angle and try to get an and-one.”
The midrange will always be Herro’s comfort zone. About 45 percent of his shot attempts this season have been midrange looks, but he’s also making the adjustment to generate more efficient opportunities when possible.
“When I’m feeling it, I try to get to the midrange, I think,” Herro said. “But lately, I’ve been trying to either shoot an efficient three or try to get to the rim, draw a foul or make a play.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ After playing the most road games in the NBA entering March, Saturday’s game against the 76ers marks the first of 11 home games this month for the Heat. That’s tied for the most in a single month in team history, as the Heat also played 11 home games in January 2012 and March 2003.
The 11 home games are in a span of 12 games, marking the most home games in a 12-game span in franchise history.
▪ The 76ers ruled out James Harden (hamstring injury recovery) for Saturday’s game in Miami on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Philadelphia on Friday night.
▪ The Heat ruled out Lowry (personal reasons), Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) for Saturday’s game against the 76ers.
Miami listed Butler (left big toe irritation), Caleb Martin (left Achilles soreness), Max Strus (right shoulder sprain) and P.J. Tucker (left knee pain) as questionable. All intend to play, Spoelstra said Saturday evening.
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 10:46 AM.
