The Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro injury has undoubtedly hurt the team’s success over the last two months as the mesh sniper has missed the Heat’s last sixteen games. His status has been in the air for a couple of weeks now, with indications that he might lace up sooner rather than later.
The Heat lost to a bleeding Golden State Warriors squad Tuesday night without Jimmy Butler. Earlier that same day, Miami upgraded Herro’s return to questionable for Friday’s tilt against the Portland Trailblazers. However, he has since been ruled out for Friday’s game. Nevertheless, Herro will likely be returning within a few games. The Heat are dropping more games than they can afford and inconsistently topping 100 points while doing it. Herro’s shooting abilities are unquestionably needed right now. If the Heat want to battle through the Eastern Conference again as they did last year, getting back to winning by grit, toughness, and shooting, Herro is key.
Tyler Herro Injury Update: His Impending Return and Post-Season Impact
The Heat Keep Losing Games They Shouldn’t Lose
Before Tyler Herro’s injury, his 20.8 points per game were above his career average of 18.1. He was shooting better than ever in his career, an element the Heat have desperately missed. Even with Duncan Robinson having a great shooting year and Jaime Jaquez Jr shooting well in his rookie season, Miami is losing ground in the East. They have dropped six of their last ten games. Two of their four wins were against the painful-to-watch Detroit Pistons.
Miami is not a scoring juggernaut, but Herro’s injury erased 20 points per game. Getting him back would no doubt give them a consistent threat beyond the arc as a pure off-ball shooter.
Unclear Updates
While Herro was ruled out for Friday’s game against the Blazers he could possibly return against the Wizards on Sunday. A healthy Herro playing a lousy team is the perfect warm-up game for him to regain his rhythm. Earlier in the week Shams Charania reported that Herro isn’t expected to be back anytime soon. Herro responded to Shams by saying this isn’t true and he’ll be back soon. While the exact timeline or return isn’t clear this tells us Herro will be back on the court sooner rather than later.
Miami Is Playing To Fend Off Other Play-In Team
Miami should be able to hold on to their play-in position with only ten games remaining, barring any cataclysmic events in the seedings around them. Of course, one of those cataclysmic events could be the Heat themselves. If they allow the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks to gain significant ground on them in the next three weeks, either team could jump over the Heat in the seedings. Herro’s injury hasn’t been the sole cause for their recent mediocre play. Alternatively, he can be the cause for the Heat to go .500 or better over the remaining schedule. The same is valid for winning a play-in tournament match against the Philadelphia 76ers, Hawks, or Bulls.
Herro’s Return Is A Make-Or-Break For The Post-Season
With Miami’s playoff situation and Herro progressing nicely expect him back on the court very soon. Sunday’s game against the Wizards is the perfect opportunity to find his footing and return to his 39.9% three-point shooting skills. Herro’s injury required a platelet-rich plasma injection two weeks ago. If that injection did its job, it will bode well for the Heat as they inch closer to the postseason.
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