Pelicans: 3 things Nickeil Alexander-Walker can learn from Tyler Herro

New Orleans Pelicans: Nickeil Alexander-Walker needs to be a better rebounder.

Get on the Boards

Tyler Herro has raised his rebounding average in the playoffs and is currently the team’s second-leading rebounder behind Bam Adebayo.

He has given his team extra possessions late in games with offensive boards and grabbed tough defensive boards in traffic that become the beginnings of fast breaks.

Herro and NAW are exactly the same height, but NAW is bigger and stronger, so there is no reason he can’t be more aggressive going after rebounds. NAW will have a height advantage over most of the people defending him and can be a weapon on the boards.

NAW only averages about 1.8 rebounds per game but has the size and athleticism to be elite in that category for a guard, much like his teammate Lonzo Ball.

Rebounding is about instinct and effort, and right now NAW lacks both. If you have watched Herro in these playoffs, he has a nose for the ball and moves aggressively to get it. He knows when to try and tap the ball out on the offensive end, and can grab it and go on the defensive end.

Lonzo Ball is great at this and is probably the best in the NBA at grabbing a board and launching a long outlet pass. NAW may not be the passer that Ball is, but he has the size and speed to grab rebounds and start his own fast break.

NAW’s shot and passing will come with time, but rebounding is mostly about effort, so he can do it now. He can pick up easy baskets, start fast breaks, and help make up for his team’s lack of size on the interior.

Herro’s rebounding is one of the reasons the Heat have been able to play small, and NAW could be a similar weapon for the Pelicans.