As a 19-year-old rookie out of Kentucky, Tyler Herro burst onto the scene with clutch regular season shots and series-turning postseason performances. In this third year, he won Sixth Man of the Year scoring 20 points a night off the bench. And last year he became a full-time starter, upping his efficiency while adding the most clutch threes (19) in the entire league.
Now he’s back, with goals in mind and clear role as a focal point for an Erik Spoelstra offense that is set on being “intentional”. What follows is an interview from the Miami HEAT’s training camp at Florida Atlantic University.
We didn’t get much of a chance to discuss this last year since you were hurt by the time the movie came out…
White Men Can’t Jump?
Yeah, your cameo at the end that it felt like nobody talked about. I’m sure there was a whole process to that coming about, along with your relationship with Jack Harlow, but I’m curious whether your lines were scripted or improvised because while it’s against type for you, I’m not sure how much people know that was against type.
It was scripted but not really. Jack was like, my real personality is laid back and chill and he wanted to show the opposite with me acting all crazy like a hot head. They just said act like that and I was making s*** up on the fly.
There are a couple things I want to talk about from the summer because from afar it seemed like you were showing some incredible maturity about the noise around your name. You’ve been going through this for years now, that’s part of being a good young player in a way, but why do you think you’ve reached the point where you can take it all in stride and deal with everything going on around you?
It’s different than being a rookie and being in trade talks. I’m a little bit more established now. I’ve gotten paid and that plays a little bit into it, but mentally I just want to be where I’m wanted, where they want me and believe in me and they trust me at the end of the day. I feel like the HEAT still trust me and believe in me and all of that. I’m happy I’m here. At the end of the day it’s a business and I try to keep that in perspective at the same time because I’m in the NBA making millions of dollars and setting my family up for the rest of their lives, too. This is where I want to be so that’s why maybe I felt a little disappointed in some way, but I understand the business at the same time.
What sticks out in times like that is yes, guys are going to get put into trade rumors and be talked about, but then there’s this whole conversation about what are you worth, how many draft picks is this guy worth. I imagine it can be a little dehumanizing. Is that part of it strange to you, people discussing your worth, as if you’re a stock or an asset going up and down in value?
It’s funny, but everyone has their opinion. The only people that really know are the ones in the front offices making the trades and ultimately deciding whose value is what. I feel like I’m pretty damn valuable. I don’t know. I feel like I’m valuable as hell. At the end of the day, I’m going to show that this season and hopefully by the end of the season I’m going to be in the same boat as Bam.
One of the quotes that lingered all summer was what you said after breaking your hand in Milwaukee, how disappointed you were. Why does it matter to you so much to prove yourself in the playoffs, and is it entirely proving it to yourself or who all are you proving it to?
I would say really to the people that don’t think I can play in the playoffs. I was 18-19 in the bubble and was the third best player on our team in the bubble as a rookie in the playoffs. I had 12 points [in the first half in Milwaukee] before I got hurt. I know I can play in the playoffs, but at the end of the day it’s just about having that opportunity. Last year I felt like I had that, then obviously I hurt my hand. That was really heartbreaking for me because I was going to have a big playoffs and then that happened.
I just want that opportunity. In the playoffs, bright lights on the big stage. That’s what I’m about.
It was a perfect series, too, at least in theory with all of Milwaukee’s drop coverage. Pretty easy to see how that would be a Tyler series.
That series, and then the Knicks did the same s*** with the drop, they make us shoot threes and s*** like that. I was like, those first two series I would have torn those series down. The Celtics would have been the Celtics, and then the Nuggets they played drop and stuff like that, too. Watching the Finals, I just saw so much opportunity for me to do my thing and help the team win. We scored [around 90 points] for three games straight, I just felt like there was an opportunity for me and it was tough just watching.
Every year we talk to Bam about why Defensive Player of the Year is important to him and why it remains a goal. Why is being an All-Star important to you?
It’s been one of my goals since I came here. I always remember as a rookie, when I got drafted in the press conference Pat said, ‘Spo is going to make me an All-Star’. That’s what the goal is at the end of the day. I want to be somebody who is an All-Star. I don’t feel like I’m a role player. I feel like I can help this team win and really move the needle. With winning comes All-Star (selections).
I’ll let you decide where to take this because we know how things can get aggregated, but what do you see as your peer group in the league as offensive players?
There’s not a place on the floor offensively that I’m uncomfortable. So offensively, you can ask my teammates and coaches, I think I’m one of the best players in the league offensively.
Obviously defensively I have things to work on and I feel like every year I get better.
You seemed to make a point of speaking on that a few times last year.
Yeah. Physically I’m never going to be a lockdown defender but I’m going to give my 100 percent effort. I’m going to try. My big thing this year, I told Spo this, is just being solid on the ball but then being electrically effective off the ball, being fast and quick in the passing lanes. I can get steals.
It was against Boston last year where you had that late game steal you took a lot of pride in?
Yeah, and the Knicks, too. Just continuing to get better defensively and offensively I think I’m one of those guys already.
Your efficiency went up a bit last year after becoming a starter, and you had this thing where you’re on ball, multi-dribble shooting efficiency went up. Was that just natural skill progression or did being a starter help you manage your shot diet a little more?
On just pull-up jumpers?
Off multiple dribbles. We take out single dribbles to get rid of relocation dribbles, but otherwise you were up between 5-10 percentage points in effective field-goal depending on how you sliced the numbers.
Ok, yeah. I work a lot in the offseason on off the dribble stuff with my trainer, Drew Hanlen. We work a lot off the dribble, and then when I come around here with the HEAT with Coach Quinn we work a lot on catch-and-shoot. So I spend all my summers working on ballhandling, using my dribble to create space, getting into guys, getting fouled – that’s something I’m really trying to do this year. I feel like off the dribble I can be really effective, but I also effective off the catch, too.
You mentioned free-throw rate, which is always a tougher thing to say, ‘Well, I’m just going to do that.’ Because there’s layers to free-throws. How do you actually go about getting your free-throw rate up, what do you have to change in order to do that?
One thing is the game is slowing down for me and being comfortable in those tight spaces. Like Jalen Brunson in the playoffs, just being comfortable in the paint with the ball. Even Austin Reaves a little bit, he’s really good at drawing fouls and I paid attention to that a lot. Being able to get into guys bodies, being aggressive and eating up that space, being able to take contact.
Your rim rate fell a little bit last year after spiking during your Sixth Man of the Year campaign. There’s two parts of this, how do you get that back up but also is there a danger to overextending or trying to overexpand your game, focusing too much on the rim, to the point where you lose what you’re good at?
I think there’s a fine balance. Spo really emphasized to me before camp when we spoke to just take what they give me. Keeping it really simple, really easy, and any open shot is a good look for me. If I get a good catch-and-shoot shot and they close out hard, that’s the time to attack. Just being aggressive and knowing when the time is to attack and when to shoot, because obviously shooting is what got me into this position. It’s about being who I am while adding things to help me take the next step.
On a different note, I’ve got two young daughters and I’m curious as to how the two kids have changed your life. I could not imagine being your age and having two young kids, the thought of that is crazy to me. How has dadhood changed your life?
I definitely don’t feel like I’m 23. Feel like I’m a little bit older, maturity wise. It changed my whole life, honestly. Free time, everything, there’s sacrifices you have to make. I appreciate that more as I get older. My daughter just turned two and I didn’t really see the sacrifices that I needed to make and wanted to make and now as I get older I appreciate those things more. I’m still only 23 but as I get older I appreciate my daughter and how much she means to me, how much she motivates me.