NBA FINALS: LAKERS VS. HEAT

October 4, 2020

Tyler Herro

Miami Heat

Game 3: Postgame

Miami Heat - 115, Los Angeles Lakers - 104

Q. What did it mean to you or were you in any way surprised that Jimmy picks tonight for the absolute game of his life and probably the most important moment that he's ever faced in this league?

TYLER HERRO: No, I wasn't surprised. We know how Jimmy is in these moments, and the world has seen what Jimmy Butler is capable of and he just played tremendous for us. He did everything, obviously. Ran the offense all the way through him, made play after play, bucket after bucket. And defensively guarding LeBron, making it tough on him, and just being a leader out there and we were all following him. Obviously, we're going to need that from him for the next three.

Q. Speak to just the encouragement that Jimmy gives you guys throughout the game, no matter what's going on, just to keep shooting and to keep executing. And can you also take us into the snarl that you gave towards the camera?

TYLER HERRO: Yeah, he just -- he's always feeding confidence into all of us. No matter how many shots we miss, he's always just telling us to keep shooting. Just really being that leader that he is. And it was just a great win for us tonight. It's going to be a tough game, Game 4, but we'll be ready. I think Coach and the rest of the guys will make some adjustments.

Q. Jimmy was driving kind of like a maniac the whole time, and that seemed to open up a lot of opportunities for you guys to both shoot and also after the kickouts attack. So how does that energy infect you?

TYLER HERRO: Just the way he's getting to the rim. It creates so much attention. When he's getting to the basket, all five guys are looking at him and obviously we have a couple guys that are more than capable of shooting and that just -- you got to worry about both. And when he's getting to the basket, it's tough to worry about both because he'll pass it to the three, and he'll always make the right play.

Q. Staying on Jimmy, what about his leadership for you guys in terms of keeping you encouraged motivating you to do the right thing, following his example through the game?

TYLER HERRO: Like I said before, just the way he's out there leading us. He's always telling us, continue to play hard, he doesn't care how many shots someone misses. As long as they're good shots he's always going to approve it. And it's always good to have your leader like that.

At the end of the day Jimmy's always going to make the right play, so us role players are more than happy to give him the ball and let him do his thing because we know he'll make the right play every time.

Q. Tremendous performance tonight. You guys played with aggression from start to finish. Was the preparation for Game 3 more physical or mental?

TYLER HERRO: I would say a little bit of both. Game 1 and 2 we felt like they punked us a little bit. They were being a lot more physical than we were and that's just not how we play basketball as an organization. Tonight, we wanted to come out with a lot more energy and focus and make it fearless on both ends of the floor. We did a good job of that, but it's not going to be enough to win the series. The next game we're going to have to bring more energy, more focus, and just keep continuing to get better.

Q. You hit that layup on Rondo and then you mean-mugged the camera, mean-mugged everybody on the way. We saw your confidence that we see every day when you play. Can we go back all the way to your high school days, when you committed to Kentucky and it was kind of controversial, and then you've come such a long way in such a short time, now that you're in the NBA Finals and playing at such a high level, is it everything you've ever dreamed of?

TYLER HERRO: For sure. I think it's every kid's dream to play at this stage, but I just cherish the moment. Really have got to take a step back and just realize and look at everything that's going on. I'm just embracing the moment, enjoying it. It's a great opportunity for all of us and we're just here enjoying it.

Q. In Game 1 you said you just needed a little bit of time to learn. I'm wondering in a game like tonight when you're watching Jimmy play, are you learning in realtime from watching or is that something you have to go back and look at the film for?

TYLER HERRO: I'm definitely learning, like in realtime, just seeing what he's doing. But I'm going to go back and watch the film for sure and just watch what he does, because it was a tremendous performance obviously from him.

So I mean, I learn right on the fly, but there's stuff that I miss and I try to pick up on. And just throughout practice or walkthroughs that we're doing, he'll help me on little things and try to get for me to get better.

Q. Going back to Jimmy, I know some of you guys have been on him throughout the season to really look for his shot more. How different of a star is Jimmy where he doesn't have to do that in every game, even though like he showed tonight, he can be that type of scorer when he is that aggressive?

TYLER HERRO: Yeah, I think like I said earlier, I think obviously we know as a team that Jimmy can score the ball almost every possession. With will, just getting to the basket, even his mid-range. And then the biggest thing about him is being a superstar like that, he's always making the right play. He doesn't care who scores. At the end of the day he just wants to win and tonight and for these next couple games we're going to need that from him.

So he knows what it takes to win and he's going to do whatever it takes.

Q. Jimmy said before the game that if we win tonight we might be up to something. How would you explain Jimmy's mindset in this game with the team down two players and two games to none?

TYLER HERRO: That's not just Jimmy, I think it's our whole team. We feel like we're all up to something now. Obviously, we're still down in the series and our backs are against the wall, and we're going to have to respond Game 4 and I think that's what we're going to do.

Q. What impressed you most about Jimmy tonight and his performance under these circumstances?

TYLER HERRO: Just the way he made every right play. Being down 2-0 obviously, for him, doesn't like the sound of that at all. He knows we're down 2-0, as everyone does, and he just did what he had to do to get the win. Obviously, we're out there helping him and doing our part, but Jimmy willed us tonight and that's what Jimmy's capable of.

Q. No Bam, no Goran, what was the key to this victory and what should Miami do to win the next game?

TYLER HERRO: Key to tonight was coming out hard with a lot of focus and energy. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and the next games we play aren't going to be easy either. And at the end of the day they're going to come with a lot more energy themselves, they're going to make some adjustments and it's all about how you respond. Like I said our backs are still against the wall and we got to respond.

Q. Lastly, do you think that maintaining leads is one of the things that the team must improve?

TYLER HERRO: Sorry, can you say that again?

Q. Do you think that maintaining advantages is one of the things that the team must improve?

TYLER HERRO: Yeah, just obviously they have two amazing players on their end of the floor and just the way we can slow them down to our best capability is the way we can win.