With Miami Heat star Tyler Herro returning from a ribs injury in explosive fashion, as his game-leading 24 points helped the team to beat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, 128-97, the guard would come off the bench in his first game back. As the Heat guard in Herro looks to excel the rest of the season, head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks of the role Herro will play with 25 games left.
Herro was electric in his first contest back after missing the prior 15 games with a injury listed as “right costochondral; injury to the ribs,” which started when the guard fractured three ribs on Jan. 10. Though he played three games after off of Torodol shots to suppress the pain, he would miss time, leading to Friday where Spoelstra had him come off the bench, saying they are managing his minutes and trying to “maximize” the rest of the season.
“Right now we’re just trying to get him out there,” Spoelstra said, according to The Miami Herald. “We are going to manage the minutes. I’m not overthinking it, I’m not putting anything in cement, I don’t have a timeline for anything.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra on the fit with Tyler Herro and Norman Powell
After Herro returned to Heat practice on Thursday, there's no denying that the team is being relatively cautious as the guard has missed 45 out of 57 games this season with a myriad of injuries.
Herro also came off the bench in Jan. 6's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves after coming back from a 13-game absence due to a toe contusion. But Herro returned to the starting lineup the next game, which could signal the same result for the current predicament.
A pairing that was intriguing coming into the season was with him and Powell, but Friday had them run different lineups, with the two playing three minutes together. But, Spoelstra would say those two will have more minutes together, as Powell even emphasized the “versatility” those two have in their fit together.
“That will work,” Spoelstra said of playing Herro and Powell together. “I’m not even at all overthinking that one.”
It remains to be seen how Herro's role evolves, especially along with Norman Powell, as Miami next takes on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.
