Dwyane Wade on Heat’s young talent, Herro and Riley. Also, more praise for Spoelstra
Dwyane Wade can explain why the Miami Heat is relying on so many young players this season.
“It’s just 2020,” Wade said with a laugh during a Wednesday morning appearance on 790 The Ticket’s Tobin & Leroy show.
The Heat, led by team president Pat Riley, has not relied on many young players over the years.
This season has been different. Third-year center Bam Adebayo is playing a major role as one of Miami’s All-Stars, 20-year-old rookie guard Tyler Herro leads the team in fourth-quarter playoff minutes, second-year forward Duncan Robinson is a starter, rookie guard Kendrick Nunn started 67 games in the regular season, and 23-year-old forward Derrick Jones Jr. is playing off the bench.
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“Pat Riley evolved. That is 2020 all in a nutshell, everybody,” Wade joked in advance of Wednesday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and Boston Celtics. “You have to evolve with the game.
“As a young guy, you just had to wait your turn. But now the young guys coming in, right away it’s their turn. They don’t have to sit and go into a developmental program. If you’re talented, you don’t have to go into that program right away. They’re giving you the keys to the team. When Dorell Wright came in, he wasn’t going to get the keys to the team no matter what happened. He was a young kid, they were going to take time to develop him. But Dorell Wright comes in now, it’s a different story for him. His career may go in a total different way. It’s just evolving with the times.”
How does Wade explain the shift?
“This is no knock on today’s game at all,” Wade said during his appearance on 790 The Ticket. “It’s just that this is the difference. I feel like these days, you have to be able to play one-on-one. You have to have great one-on-one ability, meaning you have to have great talent in this league. When I came in, you had to know how to play the game of basketball. It was a different style. It wasn’t about your talent. There was a lot of guys who had way more talent than me that never got a chance to really have a long career because it wasn’t just about your talent. It was about your [ability] to be able to play basketball, play team basketball.”
Herro, who entered Wednesday averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and four assists in the playoffs, has impressed Wade. Herro is also 5 of 11 on late-game threes with the score close, which is the most clutch threes ever by a rookie in a single postseason.
“You got to give credit to him and his surroundings and where he played because he came in ready,” Wade said during his local radio appearance. “He has that ‘it’ factor. Some things you’re born with. But when it comes to the Miami Heat and the work, that’s what you do in Miami. Everybody knows this. You’re going to work. I know people are like, ‘Oh, it’s just work. Everyone works.’ No, everyone doesn’t work like Miami works.
“As a player, you get to walk upstairs before practice starts and the younger guys are in full sweat already before practice, then you practice. You have to go hard, you got to do extra as a young guy. You got to get in the drills more, you got to do a little more. Then after practice, they got to work again. You see the work, you see those guys getting better, so you trust them in those moments. You could see with Tyler, they trust him.”
As for Riley, Wade doesn’t envision his retirement on the horizon. Riley, 75, arrived to the Heat organization 25 years ago in 1995 and has helped lead the franchise to three NBA championships.
Even if this season ends with a fourth Heat title, Wade doesn’t see Riley stepping away.
“I think we’re going to have to roll him out,” Wade said on 790 The Ticket. “... I see Riley just being there. That doesn’t mean someone else won’t eventually come in. Like, who’s next? Who’s going to be the next person to be president of the team? They got to get to that point where they start molding somebody. Because I don’t think the Heat is going to bring anybody in from the outside. So it has to be somebody inside. Who’s next? I don’t know if they’re molding somebody yet or not.
“I think [Riley’s] going to be around. His office is going to still be his office. Even if he’s not in that position, he’s still going to come into practice everyday. This is his life. This is what he loves. This is him. I don’t see him going anywhere.”
▪ Wade and his wife, actress and best-selling author, Gabrielle Union were named to TIME’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people on Tuesday.
John Legend wrote of Wade for TIME: “[W]ith his support for his daughter Zaya, who is transgender, Dwyane has set a powerful example for parents and for society of how to be good allies to young people who are figuring out who they are. ... He’s modeling how parents can champion their kids, and fight for them, and help them become the best adult that they can be.”
CHECKING IN ON NUNN
Nunn has had a standout rookie season, but the playoffs have been a struggle he’s still trying overcome.
The 25-year-old Nunn entered Wednesday averaging 3.2 points on 29.3 percent shooting from the field and 15 percent shooting on threes, 1.2 rebounds and one assist in 11.5 minutes in the playoffs.
“He’s coming every day to practice. He’s putting the work in,” Heat veteran guard Goran Dragic said of Nunn. “He’s always trying to improve. We encourage him, keep your head up because you never know. Maybe he’s going to be the guy who decides this series, that spark from the bench; suddenly he can make some shots. He’s a great defender. ... Sooner or later that jump shot is going to open up and he’s going to start making shots.”
▪ Celtics coach Brad Stevens praised coach Erik Spoelstra and the Heat on Tuesday in advance of Game 4, saying “I think the world of Erik. I think the world of their whole program.”
“I think Erik is tremendous on both sides of the ball,” Stevens said. “I think that the way that they have morphed their team to play around the strengths of Adebayo at the elbow and all those guys cutting off of him, and then to be able to play with Dragic or [Jimmy] Butler in pick-and-rolls or isolations or get matchups or whatever, is tremendous. Then on the defensive end, I think the additions of [Jae] Crowder and [Andre] Iguodala gave them a ton more versatility at the trade deadline, but it also, I think, made everyone else a better defender because it gave them a little bit more help. The schemes that they’ve put in place make it really hard to find a good shot.”
