The change the 76ers have made with Herro, his response and Rivers’ interesting analogy
After watching Tyler Herro score 43 points in the first two games against them — on sizzling 15 for 27 shooting — the 76ers made a decision before Friday’s game: They’re not going to continue to allow the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year to beat them without mixing their defenses and making a more concerted effort to get the ball out of his hands.
So the 76ers blitzed him on the pick and roll. They defended him more snugly. And it made a difference in Herro finishing 5 for 15 from the field – including 2 for 7 on threes - on a 15-point night in Game 3.
“We trapped him more, which I thought was effective and we have to keep doing that,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said Saturday.
But Rivers said more is needed.
“We still keep losing him,” Rivers said. “We showed [it] again today [in film work]. This guy can hurt you. We should never lose sight of him. It’s like in high school playing zone and they have that one kid that can shoot and the high school coach is yelling, ‘There he is! There he is!’
“That’s honestly how you should play him when we’re in our zone. And we keep not doing that. That’s something we have to do better.”
Herro said it’s his job to make adjustments now.
“Really the whole regular season prepares you for the playoffs and moments like this,” he said. “They’re trapping me, putting a little bit more pressure on me, trying to get the ball out of my hands. So we just have to make adjustments, make the right play, make the simple play and just continue to watch film and make adjustments.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, half-jokingly, spoke of needing a “quick refresher” about dealing with traps.
“That’s a sign of great respect, how important Tyler is to us,” Spoelstra said. “They know when he’s ignitable that he creates so many more opportunities that are unscripted. They’re trying to eliminate some of those with those traps and they’ve done a very good job of putting a lot of pressure on him, making it tough for him to make passes out of the tap. I think he’ll be better with it.”
Matisse Thybulle did decent work defending Herro in Game 3, though Herro’s overall numbers in this series are good with Thybulle defending him (16 points, 6 for 12 shooting, 5 assist, one turnover).
“That’s what Matisse needs to do,” James Harden said. “We know how valuable Herro is coming off their bench. He’s an elite scorer. We need Matisse to be in his pocket, contest all his shots and make it difficult for him.”
THIS AND THAT
Tyrese Maxey has been a big pain to the Heat, scoring all 21 of his points in the second half of Game 3 (including 5 for 6 on threes) after scoring 23 of his 34 in the second half of Game 2.
“I don’t really have to force anything,” Maxey said after Game 3. “It’s kind of get it where I can, and when it’s time to make some big shots, I’m gonna try to make some big shots.”
In this series, Maxey is shooting 5 for 6 (16 points) when Victor Oladipo guards him, 4 for 7 (11 points) against Herro and 3 for 8 (8 points) against Jimmy Butler.
But Maxey hasn’t been able to stop Herro, who has 16 points (6 for 8) with Maxey on defense.
76ers forward Danny Green said Maxey also is making a difference on defense: “Defensively, he’s done an amazing job. He’s been chasing [Max] Strus, he’s been chasing [Kyle] Lowry. He’s been chasing a lot of guys. [Gabe] Vincent. Even Herro at times.”
Though Maxey’s speed has made a difference, Herro said: “We feel like we’re faster, have more speed than them. We’ve played faster all year.”
▪ Maxey said the impact Joel Embiid had Friday transcended his stat line (18 points, 11 rebounds), noting the Heat “can’t load up as much [on 76ers shooters] or send two at the ball.
“And then when he gets the ball, he demands so much attention at the elbow and box that shooters get even more open threes than the first two games.”
But Herro said: “We’ve played against Jo before and there’s different parts throughout the game that we can get in the paint more and spray to open shooters. It’s not always going up against him, but just trying to get into the paint and I think that will help our offense look much better.”
▪ The Heat listed seven players as questionable for Game 4: Dewayne Dedmon (head cold), Herro (left ankle sprain), Lowry (left hamstring strain), Caleb Martin (left ankle sprain), Strus (right hamstring strain), P.J. Tucker (right calf strain) and Vincent (right knee irritation). All are expected to be available to play on Sunday.
The 76ers listed Embiid (facial fracture and right thumb sprain) as questionable for Game 4. He’s also expected to play.
SERIES TALK
Maxey said it’s a certain mentality, as much as anything, that the 76ers must take to Game 4.
“You’ve got to bring the fight to get after them again,” he said. “Go straight after them, attack them and try to put them on their heels instead of being the counter punching team.”
Said Green: “We know they’re not going to shoot as poorly as they did [in Game 3] and we’re not going to shoot as well as we did [Friday]. They’re going to come out with an edge and more intensity. We’re not exhaling. We know we have to win another game and have another decent shooting game on Sunday.”
Philadelphia shot 47.6 percent overall and 48.5 percent on threees (16 for 33) on Friday. The Heat shot 35.1 percent from the field and 23.3 on threes on Friday.
76ers FINED
The NBA today announced the76ers have been fined $50,000 for violating league injury reporting rules.
The team failed to disclose center-forward Joel Embiid’s participation status in an accurate and timely manner prior to Game 3 of their conference semifinal playoff series vs. the Miami Heat on May 6 at Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers erred by changing Embiid’s status from out to doubtful on Friday, instead of changing it from out to questionable, which likely would have satisfied NBA rules. Embiid had to be listed as out until he cleared concussion protocol; Embiid said he cleared protocol Thursday.
This story was originally published May 7, 2022 at 6:19 PM.
