Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro: “I’ve got to be better.” Herro, Kendrick Nunn facing challenges
Perhaps, when the Heat travels through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on a four-game road trip that begins Saturday in Washington, second-year guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn will locate missing three-point shots.
Two of the NBA’s sweet-shooting rookies — Nunn early last season and Herro throughout the season — have seen their three-point percentages plunge early this season.
Herro’s three-point accuracy has dropped from 38.9 percent during his rookie season and 37.5 percent in the playoffs to 29.7 (11 for 37) so far this season.
With Nunn, there’s at least some level of concern because his struggles extend nearly a full calendar year.
With Herro, there’s no need for concern because his stroke is a proven commodity.
“I have one of the purest shots in the whole entire world, in the league,” Herro said Friday. “And I feel like shooters go through slumps when they can’t make a three, can’t make a shot, but just sticking to the basics. I know what I have to do to get to where I need to be.”
On Saturday against the Wizards, Herro will make his eighth start — as many as he had all of his rookie season before making an additional five starts in the playoffs.
He’s averaging 13.4 points in 32.7 minutes per game, compared with 13.5 in 27.4 minutes last season.
But his rebounds per game have improved (4.1 last season to 6.4 this season), as have his assists (2.2 to 4.1). On the flip side, his turnovers also have increased (1.6 to 2.3).
“I’ve got to be better,” Herro said. “It’s on me. It’s not on anybody else. I’ll be better. It’s early in the season. I’m a team guy, so I want the team to do good before me and as the rest of my teammates are. We’re all about the team, so I’m not really worried about my numbers. Obviously, I need to be more efficient, but as far as my numbers go, I just want to see Ws starting to stack up on that win column.”
Though Herro’s three-point percentage is down from his rookie season, his overall shooting percentage is up, from 42.8 to 44.4, because he’s shooting much better on two-pointers (46.2 to 56.8).
He said moving from a bench role to a starting job — a role that was a longterm goal for him — “is obviously an adjustment period. I think I’m going through it right now. I’m playing with a bunch of great players, veteran guys who have made a name for themselves in the league.
“I’m just trying to figure out my spots and where, when my time is to be aggressive, the right time to play-make. I’m just trying to adjust to everything right now, but all the numbers and everything like that — that’s all on me. Defensive effort — that’s on me. Everything is on me.”
Guard Goran Dragic said teams “are definitely defending him differently... We have a target on our backs. We made the Finals. Each night, a team will play hard against us. We have to demonstrate it’s not a fluke. I still believe we’re a really good team. We just need to get our rhythm back.”
The situation with Nunn, who has fallen out of the rotation, gives more pause for concern, because Nunn has struggled with his shot since shooting 50.7 percent last January.
Since then, he shot 41.7 percent in February, 41.3 percent in five games in March before the season was suspended, 31 percent (20 for 64) in the regular-season games in the Disney bubble, 39.1 percent in the Disney bubble playoffs and 37.9 percent in 61 minutes so far this season.
Overall this season, Nunn is shooting 11 for 29 from the field and 1 for 9 on threes.
So the question now is whether he can regain the offensive efficiency that was on display for much of the first half of his rookie season. He will be a restricted free agent after the season.
“I really respect K-Nunn and his approach,” Erik Spoelstra said Friday. “I think he’s going to be successful in this league a long time. He has a mental stability and toughness to continue to work and be ready for his opportunity. He has a very good knack for finding different ways to put the ball in the basket.”
Nunn’s struggles have assuredly damaged his trade value, which won’t help in any potential Heat efforts to acquire an All-Star player such as Houston’s James Harden or potentially, Bradley Beal, if Washington were to make him available.
Here’s my Friday Dolphins piece, with intel on potential draft trade downs and other notes.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 4:03 PM.
