Heat’s Tyler Herro getting used to Curry-like defensive attention: ‘It’s a sign of respect’

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro tweaked his game this season in order to take more threes and fewer midrange attempts to replicate 10-time NBA All-Star Stephen Curry’s shot profile. It has resulted in the best season of Herro’s career and serious consideration for his first NBA All-Star Game appearance.

It has also resulted in a Curry-like level of attention from opposing defenses in recent weeks.

“You got to treat this guy like Steph Curry,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Herro after beating the Heat in Los Angeles last week. “That’s how he’s playing right now.”

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When the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 128-107 on Sunday afternoon at Kaseya Center, the Spurs used rookie guard Stephon Castle to follow Herro around for most of the game. Castle face-guarded Herro all over the court in an effort to keep the ball out of his hands.

“He picked me up in the garage,” an exasperated Herro joked after Sunday’s win over the Spurs. “When I got out of my car, he was actually waiting on me.”

This tactic worked at the start, with Herro going scoreless in the first quarter Sunday for the first time this season. But things eventually loosened up for Herro, as he finished the victory with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range, six rebounds and seven assists.

“He is the focal point of a lot of scouting reports,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said of Herro. “So for us, it’s understanding that he’s got to play kind of like Steph. He might not get the ball, but go set a screen, go screen somebody. That’s how you get yourself open.

“Me and him had that conversation during the game. He was like, ‘Man, what am I supposed to do?’ I was like, ‘Just go screen for somebody.’ Literally if they’re face-guarding you, just go screen for somebody. Somebody is going to be open. Obviously, the game laxed up, people relaxed and he’s getting to all his go-to moves, he’s getting into his rhythm. He’s a phenomenal shooter, so you got to respect it.”

Herro, who turned 25 on Monday, is averaging career-highs in points (24 per game), rebounds (5.7) and assists (5). He’s also shooting a career-best 47.8 percent from the field and a career-best 40.7 percent from three-point range on a career-high 9.6 three-point attempts per game while playing in each of the Heat’s first 41 games this season.

Not only does Herro enter Monday ranked second in the league in three-pointers made this season (160 threes made) behind only Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, but Herro is also one of only two players in the league who’s averaging at least 24 points, five rebounds and five assists per game while also shooting 45 percent or better from the field and 40 percent or better from behind the arc this season. The only other player in the NBA currently meeting those thresholds is three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

“It’s starting to be an every night thing,” Herro said of the extra defensive attention he’s receiving, with the Heat set to close its three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun). “I like it. It’s a sign of respect, obviously.”

A NEW HEAT RECORD

The Heat set a new franchise record when it scored 82 points in Sunday’s second half on its way to the 21-point win over the Spurs.

The previous Heat record for the highest-scoring second half came when it totaled 81 points in the second half of a Feb. 3, 2020 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

In addition, Sunday’s 82-point second half matched the highest-scoring half in Heat history. The Heat also scored 82 points in the first half of a Feb. 22, 2020 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

INJURY REPORT

The Heat remains without Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation), Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery) and Isaiah Stevens (G League) for Tuesday’s game against the Trail Blazers. The rest of the Heat’s roster is expected to be available.