New Orleans Pelicans: Nickeil Alexander-Walker should watch Tyler Herro’s movement without the ball.
Moving without the ball
Even though Herro has been one of the primary ball handlers for Miami when he’s on the floor, maybe the most impressive thing about him is how he moves without the ball.
Herro is in constant motion, and never just stands in the corner waiting for a 3-point shot like so many good shooters.
He is running off screens, creating movement and chaos so that the other team has to keep track of him. Even when Herro doesn’t touch the ball, he is a distraction that keeps the other team guessing and opens up lanes for his teammates.
The Heat have used this motion to get easy hoops against the Celtics, usually when the defense is paying so much attention to Herro running off screens that a cutter is left wide open going to the hoop.
Obviously Herro is a lights-out shooter, so he has to be accounted for. NAW is not there yet, but it’s not hard to imagine him shooting closer to 40 percent at some point than the 34 percent he shot this season.
Either way, he can create for himself and others by moving without the ball, running hard off screens and making the defense work while he’s in there.
NAW needs to be more aggressive cutting to the hoop and looking to finish when he does get it. The most impressive thing about Herro hasn’t been his 3-point shooting, but how he creates for his teammates with movement, passing and dribble penetration.
NAW can do these things too but must be more aggressive and smarter.