Why Heat wants more Adebayo-Herro pick-and-rolls: ‘When in doubt, let’s just get to that’

At halftime of Tuesday’s win against the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t pleased with center Bam Adebayo and guard Tyler Herro. Not because of anything they did, but because of what they didn’t do.

Spoelstra felt like Adebayo and Herro didn’t get to their two-man game enough in that first half. The result was an eight-point halftime deficit.

“At halftime when we talked about it, they were kind of trying to figure it out separately in the first half,” Spoelstra said.

But Adebayo and Herro heard Spoelstra’s message loud and clear, as they repeatedly teamed up to run pick-and-rolls in the fourth quarter to lead the Heat to the comeback win against the Celtics. Adebayo and Herro combined for 14 of the Heat’s 23 fourth-quarter points, and Herro found Adebayo for the game-winning jumper out of that pick-and-roll with 20.4 seconds to play.

“The two of them have such a great synergy that regardless of what the coverage may be, whether it’s a drop or whether it’s a switch or whether it’s a blitz, it fits into now both of their strength zones very well,” Spoelstra said ahead of Friday night’s matchup against the Orlando Magic to close a three-game homestand. “In that fourth quarter, they were both able to play off each other and help each other, which is what I really wanted them to do.”

There’s a very good reason Spoelstra felt that way. The Adebayo-Herro pick-and-roll is among the most efficient high-volume actions in the NBA.

With Herro as the ball handler and Adebayo as the screener and roller, the Heat has scored 1.25 points per direct screen (including Herro’s non-Adebayo assist opportunities) this season, according to Second Spectrum. That ranks sixth best among the 25 pick-and-roll combos around the NBA with 400 or more screens.

“It’s one of the best duos and combos in this league,” Spoelstra continued. “When in doubt, let’s just get to that and it will probably create an opening or an advantage somehow, someway.

“The beauty of their synergy is they each help the other one. It’s not like one guy is like sacrificing and it’s really benefiting one player primarily. They both help each other. It’s like a symbiotic relationship. Ultimately, that’s what you want. When you have a place where the ball is going, you want both of them to be really effective and efficient.”

But sometimes Adebayo and Herro make the mistake of going too long without running their “effective and efficient” pick-and-roll during games, like in the first half of Tuesday’s victory. It’s an issue both players are aware of and are consciously trying to fix.

“Just being younger players in the league, sometimes you forget kind of how we want to attack every possession and it’s not as intentional as the game goes on,” Herro said. “I think to start the games, we’re conscious and we always go pick-and-roll, pick-and-roll me and Bam and then we kind of go away from it and then slowly get back into it. But I think as young players just recognizing that’s our strength and we should stick to that as much as we can. So that’s the challenge, just being able to read the game and intentionally go after our pick-and-rolls.”

A MOMENT TO REMEMBER

While 12-year-old Felipe didn’t get to watch Butler play on Tuesday against the Celtics, he has spent a lot of time with Heat star Jimmy Butler since that game.

Felipe, who traveled from Argentina to Miami and held a sign saying he traveled more than 4,400 miles to see Butler play against the Celtics on Tuesday at Miami-Dade Arena, was caught on video dejected after learning Butler was a late scratch for the game because of lower back tightness.

“Honestly, I was devastated,” Butler said when asked what his reaction was when he saw that video. “I don’t want to miss games, I don’t.”

But Butler made it up to Felipe, meeting with him and his family on Wednesday. They toured the Heat’s facilities and even shared a meal together.

“I’m glad I did get to meet him, talk to him about it because he’s a huge basketball fan,” Butler said. “He plays basketball himself. Actually does everything, he skateboards, he surfs. He’s an incredible kid. So I’m glad that we got to spend some time together.”

The Heat also gifted Felipe a signed Butler jersey and other merchandise.

“It was a really genuine moment,” Spoelstra said. “Jimmy was a late scratch. This is not one of these load management things. He physically couldn’t go. He was trying to do everything he possibly could to get out there and then all of a sudden found out about that, and he was going to one way or another make a lifelong experience and memory for the kid and the family.”

NO UPDATE, BUT POSITIVE MOVEMENT

Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Duncan Robinson (finger surgery on right hand) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) remain out for the Heat on Friday against the Magic, but they were all participating in some level of on-court work at Miami-Dade Arena following Thursday’s practice.

Jovic put up set shots, Robinson dribbled and took shots with his non-shooting hand as he continued to recover from finger surgery on his right hand, and Yurtseven also put up set shots while wearing a splint on his left ankle.

“I don’t have an update and I don’t want for them to think about trying to fast track right now,” Spoelstra said when asked about Jovic, Robinson and Yurtseven following Thursday’s practice. “They have pitch counts on each one of them. They have to be very disciplined and not try to rush that process, particularly as you get to this stage it’s really important. But I know that they feel better being able to do a little bit more and being around the group and feeling like they’re getting a sweat like everybody else.”

Friday marks the 13th straight game that Jovic has missed with his lower back issue and the 12th straight game Robinson has missed after undergoing finger surgery. The Heat announced earlier this month that both players would be re-evaluated at the end of January.

Yurtseven has not yet played this season and his return is still weeks away.