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The Miami Heat won't have their best player for Tuesday's matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Guard Tyler Herro will miss his first game of the season due to groin soreness.
Via Ira Winderman:
“Tyler Herro says he is out tonight.”
Herro is enjoying a breakout campaign for the Heat, who have been surrounded by drama due to the Jimmy Butler trade fiasco. The Kentucky product has completely taken advantage of his role though, averaging 24 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 40% from three-point land.
The 24-year-old enjoyed his birthday on Monday and has played in all 41 games so far for the Heat, who are 21-20 at the moment, which is good enough for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Butler just returned to action despite the organization still looking to trade him ahead of the February 6 deadline.
Herro was seen having some fun with Jimmy before his first game back as their names were announced, but Butler wasn't exactly enjoying himself. With Herro out here, Kel'el Ware is getting his first NBA start. Terry Rozier, Duncan Robinson, Bam Adebayo, and Butler will round out the first unit.
Ware has been a solid piece off the bench in his rookie campaign, averaging 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per night. He's given the Heat some nice production in their second unit.
The Heat have gone just 4-6 in their last 10 games but did grab a big win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. After hosting Portland, Erik Spoelstra's squad hits the road for matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets.
With Herro sidelined here, Butler will need to step up alongside Bam. The Heat need to stay focused and ignore the outside noise, but it does appear a Butler deal could be coming sooner rather than later. The Phoenix Suns acquired three first-round picks from the Utah Jazz and that is reportedly an important step toward Jimmy getting traded.
