Herro out of Rising Stars game. And Iguodala on how Warriors and Heat are different
An ankle injury will keep Heat rookie Tyler Herro out of the Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star weekend, a disappointment for a player who ranks sixth among all rookies in scoring and has been one of the NBA’s best guards overall in clutch shooting.
The NBA announced that Cleveland’s Colin Sexton would replace Herro in Friday’s game, which involves first- and second-year players. Herro accompanied the Heat on this road trip but has missed the first four games with soreness in his right ankle and will miss Wednesday’s game at Utah. On Tuesday, he returned to South Florida for treatment on his ankle.
This means the Heat will have five participants instead of six during All-Star weekend in Chicago, with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo playing in Sunday’s game, Duncan Robinson competing in the three-point contest, Derrick Jones Jr. partaking in the slam-dunk contest, and Kendrick Nunn appearing in the Rising Stars game on Friday, but now without teammate Herro alongside.
Adebayo also will participate in the skills competition.
IGUODALA COMPARES HEAT AND WARRIORS
Before being honored by the Warriors prior to Monday’s game, new Heat swingman Andre Iguodala offered an interesting comparison between the organizations.
“They’re very similar with different approaches,” he said. “[Warriors coach] Steve Kerr has kind of a Phil Jackson Zen to him, where it’s a little more relaxed. You hear it in different ways. But you’re hearing the same things you hear in the Heat organization.
“Coach [Erik] Spoelstra is very direct and very intent in how he delivers a message to make sure players are locked in. I think it’s the perfect setting for having so many young guys in this generation; their attention spans are slowly and surely dwindling. [The Heat coaching staff is] locked in at all times, very precise with everything we do, whether it be walk-throughs, whether it be practice, whether it be film. It’s a really good foundation for these guys to have very successful careers.”
▪ Iguodala appreciated the Warriors’ tribute, which included a video presentation and Klay Thompson addressing him on court before the game, calling him among the greatest Warriors of all time.
“I think with Klay being out there, it was kind of over the top,” Iguodala said. “I have a special relationship with the core of the group: Draymond Green, Klay, Steph Curry. Klay is the quiet one, so coming from him, it almost got me.”
Iguodala said he enjoyed playing with Butler for the first time in Monday’s 113-101 Heat win.
“It felt really good,” Iguodala said. “We’re going to have so many different layers, so many different guys. Tyler is still out. Really looking forward to what lies ahead.
“Being around the game so much at a high level, there’s so much scrutiny on every move. ... It can become exhausting, and it can get the joy out of the game a little bit. But being around this young group and seeing the spirit they have, they’re just excited to play in the NBA every night. It helps with finding youth. It’s not a drag coming in to play. So it’s a really good place for me. You feel the energy from the coaching staff, from the front office, and I feel like it’s going to keep me going every single day, which is really good.”
▪ Kerr said he sees similarities between Adebayo and Green.
“The similarity is the playmaking,” Kerr said. “It’s rare to have a combination of a playmaking big and a guy that can defend the paint. Bam has had a fantastic season, and Miami is playing quite a bit like we have played over the last five years. And Bam is at the center of that offense like Draymond has been. It’s a good comparison.”
▪ Jae Crowder said it’s “surreal” to be reunited with Jimmy Butler; they played one season together as Marquette teammates in 2010-11.
“He’s very much more mature [now],” Crowder said. “He’s an all-around professional now. Kudos to him growing as a player, growing as a man. He definitely has changed for the better. It’s an honor to share the court with him.”
▪ Jones Jr., who retained his starting spot with Kelly Olynyk moving to the bench, said he doesn’t “really care” whether he starts. Jones, standing 6-foot-6, said he has no issue with defending bigger power forwards, an assignment that he has often handled.
“Sometimes the four man [power forward] is the best player,” he said. “I’m going to take that opportunity whenever I get the chance.”
Spoelstra indicated he would stick with that lineup Wednesday in Utah but was noncommittal about what would happen when starter Meyers Leonard returns from an ankle injury.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 12:35 PM.
