Heat SG Tyler Herro placed in health and safety protocols
The Miami Heat (28-16) are in a virtual tie with the Chicago Bulls (27-15) atop the Eastern Conference standings. Coach Erik Spoelstra's club will be severely shorthanded for their Wednesday matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, though.
Herro, who is the team's second-leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, will "likely" miss the Heat's Friday game against the Atlanta Hawks, as well as their Sunday bout with the Los Angeles Lakers, too, according to Wes Goldberg. The former Kentucky Wildcat is in is third NBA season and is currently averaging career highs in points (20.7), assists (4.0) and minutes per game (32.9), while posting a .430/.388/.876 shooting line.
Lowry was acquired by Miami from the Toronto Raptors in August 2021 and leads the Heat in assists (8.3) and minutes per game (34.2). The six-time All-Star is also averaging 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals across 39 games.
Okpala is in his third NBA season and has averaged 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 11.6 minutes per contest in 21 games off the bench thus far. Morris is in his 11th year in the NBA and first with Miami, which is his sixth team.
The twin of fellow NBA forward Marcus Morris has averaged 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 18.7 minutes in his 10 games played. While Spoelstra's crew will be missing serious bodies on Wednesday, All-Star Bam Adebayo returned to action after a lengthy injury layoff on Monday.
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