Goran Dragic to Tyler Herro: Passing It Down

“I’m gonna say I learned everything from you.”

That’s what Tyler Herro told Goran Dragic mid-game while being mic’d up, after Goran told him he’s going to be watching all of his games when he is 40.

Learning everything from Goran is clearly a stretch, but learning a lot of things seems pretty accurate.

Obviously Tyler’s overall offensive game he’s had his whole life, but when you begin to look at the small things in his game, you begin to see some similarities.

For starters, the ability to use a soft touch off the glass. For many young guys, using the backboard doesn’t always seem to be their first priority. Usually players develop that part of their game as they age, but for Tyler Herro, it’s clear Goran has showed him that already.

Not only from the mid-range area, but mostly when attacking the rim for a layup. This was on full display once Tyler entered the bubble, where he’d throw the ball off the top of the backboard when driving for a soft touch off the glass.

Another thing that stood out was utilizing the floater off the pick and roll. The reason Goran is such a great pick and roll player is because he uses fundamentals when doing it. That includes patience, quick decision making, a floater, and the ability to throw the lob.

And now, these four things seemed to have been passed down to Tyler Herro in his rookie season. Tyler began to be comfortable with his decision making when throwing it up for Bam to catch the lob, but more importantly his natural feel around the rim allowed him to utilize his high arcing floater.

It’s also obvious that Goran Dragic is not afraid to use his off arm when going up for a layup to gain a bit of an advantage. And funny enough, Tyler began to do that as well when driving to the rim, except he doesn’t get the veteran calls like Goran does from the refs.

These two guys played next to one another all season since they both came off the bench, and it was clear that there was automatic chemistry between them on the floor.

Now that Tyler may be switching over to the point guard position, Goran may have a few more tips to add to his game. Obviously it is essential for Miami to bring back Goran Dragic this offseason, but it may be even more essential for them to bring him back for the continued development of Tyler Herro.