Pat Riley blunt on Heat’s Tyler Herro, ‘He’s been fragile,’ says Terry Rozier in neck brace
Pat Riley says the Heat need Tyler Herro to stay on the court, but also sees the fifth-year guard with staying power.
MIAMI — While the focus of Pat Riley’s season-ending media session Monday at Kaseya Center largely centered on Jimmy Butler and the time missed this past season by the team’s leading man, the Heat president also offered thoughts about several others from the roster bounced by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
In perhaps his most pointed comment beyond those about Butler, Riley mentioned the time missed by guard Tyler Herro in recent seasons, including this past season.
“He’s been fragile, a little bit,” Riley said, with Herro missing 40 games this season, after missing almost all of last season’s playoffs. “He broke his hand last year in the playoffs. He had some injuries earlier in his career. And there isn’t anybody that works harder at his game. He works. He puts the time in, in the weight room. So how does he keep his calorie intake?
“So he might have to go to another level nutritionally. He’s gotten stronger. But as the season progresses, you lose some of that. So he’s got to make some adjustments, definitely.”
Riley said there already have been discussions about Herro getting stronger.
“His major injuries are real,” Riley said. “And so, we’re just hoping we can get through a season where he’s playing in that 72- to 82-game basis. Maybe one year he will surprise and play every game.”
Riley also addressed the thought of the Heat being their best when Herro plays as sixth man, a notion former Heat captain Udonis Haslem raised during an ESPN appearance last week.
“That’s a narrative that’s out there, that everybody who has that narrative knows more than I do. They must know more than I do, to say that about Tyler,” Riley said. “Tyler’s a star.”
Rozier update
Riley offered additional clarity on Rozier, who missed the postseason with what the Heat had been listing as neck spasms.
“I see him in a neck brace, so obviously he’s doing everything that he’s supposed to do,” Riley said. “I met with him the other day, and he said he felt good. But this is a process by which it takes time.
“When you’re dealing with the spine, you don’t mess around. We’re not going to mess around with Terry. And he wanted to play, desperately.”
Riley said there is no expectation of long-term impact.
“It’s going to heal,” Riley said. “The doctors convinced us, in time this thing will heal.”
As for trading for Rozier, Riley said the benefit remains apparent.
“He had some games where it was all right there,” Riley said of Rozier’s streak scoring, an element largely otherwise lacking on the roster. “But I do think after the trade, it took a while for him to settle in.
“Our offense, we felt we needed more firepower. He felt he could give it to us, and he did. Terry is everything I expected.”
Youth impresses
While much of Riley’s focus Monday was on his veteran core, he did express optimism about the gains this season of 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic and 2023 first-round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“They’re two great pieces for us,” Riley said.
“It all happened like that (snaps fingers) for Niko. I think last year he went through back issues. The learning curve was off the charts. So we saw something this year when we put him in the game, I think you could see this guy is going to have some talent. So it’s all about repetitions and IQ and learning and learning and learning more, a new way of conditioning for a 20-year-old guy, I think cardio more than anything else. He’s a great athlete. He’s got great instincts. He’s unself. He’s a rebounder. A coast-to-coast guy.
“And Jaime, if he had not gotten hurt, with the groin earlier in the season, he would have played 82 games. He ended up playing 75 games. And believe me, he was hurting when he missed those games. But he’s a proud young warrior and will play every night for you.”