Tyler Herro: “I plan on being an All-Star one day.” How he’s fixing area that needs work
Ever since Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro good-naturedly said “I’m a bucket” during an interview last June, that moniker has stuck with him.
But you should know this about Herro, too: He doesn’t want players he’s guarding to think they’re going to get an easy bucket, even though that has sometimes been the case during his rookie season.
With Herro, the determination to improve defensively isn’t merely lip service.
He is genuinely serious about the need to get better on that side of the floor, so much so that he has met privately with Erik Spoelstra in the film room for study sessions and to the point that he studies tape of skilled wing defenders on his own time.
Before the NBA went on hiatus, Spoelstra said he had no doubt Herro takes seriously the need to improve defensively because “he is an ambitious, driven, dedicated young man. He’s not where we want him to be or where he wants to be right now, nor would that even be realistic. He’s going to get better in this league on both sides of the floor because he’s committed to it.”
Herro puts it this way:
“My thing is, I don’t want to just be a scorer. I plan on being an All Star one day and that’s what I’m set to work out to be. I know it’s going to take a lot obviously and it’s going to happen on both ends of the floor. I’m allowing coach Spo and the rest of the staff to push me every day.”
The results, so far, have been mixed, but that is to be expected for a rookie who’s just 20. Players defended by Herro are shooting 44.5 percent from the field, compared to the 43.5 they shoot overall.
As perspective, among other rookie wing players, opposing players are shooting 42.7 percent against Memphis’ Ja Morant, but 46.1 percent against Minnesota’s Jarrett Culver, 50 percent against the Knicks’ RJ Barrett, 51.6 percent against Cleveland’s Darius Garland, and 51.1 against the Bulls’ Coby White.
So Herro is permitting a lower shooting percentage than most of the other top rookie wing players.
And this is also encouraging: Herro is holding players he’s guarding to a lower shooting percentage than that permitted by All Stars Donovan Mitchell (46.2), Chris Paul (46.3), Damian Lillard (46.4), Luka Doncic (47.4), Bradley Beal (47.7), Russell Westbrook (47.8) and Trae Young (48.3).
The caveat, of course, is that shooting percentage against doesn’t fully take into account blow-bys. And working to make sure his man stays in front of him remains an area of emphasis for Herro.
Herro said the defensive work with Heat coaches, which began days after he was drafted and has continued nearly uninterrupted for eight months, focuses on “footwork, the technique, getting stronger, knowing and anticipating the plays before they happen. There’s something always new to work on.”
He said he works mostly with assistants Chris Quinn and Anthony Carter.
“Those guys, ever since I got here, whether it’s offense or defense, they pushed me every day,” he said.
He also has watched tape with Spoelstra, just the two of them, on two occasions before the season was suspended.
“The tape we watch is of me, the areas I need to improve on and stuff like that,” Herro said. “He will ask me what I see, what I was doing, what I was thinking, breaking down what things were going through my [mental] checklist at that point. It just shows how much he believes in me. He wants me to be great. It shows what trust he has in me.”
Herro, who said he reported to the Orlando-area bubble in the best shape of his life, said his trainer in Wisconsin sends him clips of defensively-skilled wings to study, and Herro is an eager pupil.
“He sends me clips of Avery Bradley, Patrick Beverly, guys that are on the ball and get into the ball when ball screens come,” Herro said. “There are a bunch of guys who are really good at what they do.
“I know it’s a long road and a long process. Defensively is the biggest area I need to improve in. My offense is fine as of now.”
But in the weeks before the season was temporarily halted, Herro said not a single player trash-talked him when he’s on defense or told Herro that he cannot guard him.
Because those players know, as Herro said, smiling, that “I can score on the other end too.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 11:22 AM.
