Heat’s Tyler Herro To Return On Tuesday
Heat guard Tyler Herro has been upgraded from questionable to available on the team’s injury report and is on track to make his return on Tuesday vs. Minnesota, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
It will be the first time Herro has played since December 9. He has missed 11 straight games and 13 of the past 14 due to a right big toe contusion. The 25-year-old was also inactive for the first 17 games of the season while he recovered from left ankle surgery — he has played just six times so far this season.
Herro was as effective as ever when he did suit up for that handful of games in November and December. In his six outings, he has averaged 23.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest, with an excellent .505/.405/.923 shooting line.
Herro was immediately reinserted into the starting lineup following his first lengthy injury absence and will likely reclaim that spot again this time around. However, it’s worth noting that Miami has been having more success lately with its lineup of Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, and Andrew Wiggins. That group has started each of the past four games (including three wins) and has a +18.0 net rating during that stretch.
While the Heat are getting one of their leading scorers back for Tuesday’s game, the Timberwolves may be missing their top offensive weapon. Anthony Edwards has been added to the injury report due to right foot injury maintenance and is considered questionable to play, per the team (Twitter link).
Heat Notes: Powell, Herro, Jaquez, Rebounding
Heat guard Norman Powell was forced out of Saturday’s game against Minnesota early in the first quarter with tightness in his right hamstring, but he was determined to keep playing, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes in a subscriber-only story. Powell not only returned to score a team-high 21 points, he was active on Sunday as well, pouring in 34 points in a victory over New Orleans.
“I like thugging things out is what I like to say,” Powell explained. “I’m not a person that’s going to sit out or pull myself out of the game with certain injuries. If I’m able to play and I feel that I’m able to go out there and produce and be helpful for my team, I’m going to go do that no matter what the injury is. … I’m just a player that’s going to play through all the bumps and bruises unless I physically can’t go out there and play. I don’t want to take the game for granted. We’ve only got a limited number of games and time in this league, so I want to take advantage of every second of it.”
Powell is proving to be a valuable addition for Miami after being acquired from the Clippers in an offseason trade. L.A. was reluctant to commit to an extension for Powell, who has a $20.5MM expiring contract, but he appears to have a much better shot at a long-term deal with the Heat as he’s leading the team in scoring at 24.4 PPG.
“We’re getting to know him, he trusts his body, he knows his body better than anybody,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He said he was good. He did pass the protocols once he came back to the locker room. … Norm was fine the rest of the way, except for when he was getting clubbed in the head those two possessions in the fourth.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Tyler Herro, who has only been available once in the last 13 games due to a right big toe contusion, was in uniform Sunday night even though there were no plans to use him, Chiang notes in the same piece. Herro will travel with the team on its four-game road trip and could be back on the court Tuesday at Minnesota.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. sat out Sunday’s game with a sprained right ankle he suffered Saturday night, Chiang adds. It was just the second time this season that Jaquez hasn’t been able to play. “I just tried running, tried running, tried moving around on it, and it wasn’t really feeling right,” Jaquez said in explaining why he couldn’t return to the game on Saturday. “So that’s what caused that decision.”
- Powell says the Heat are “definitely not” where they want to be with a 20-16 record as they approach mid-season, Chiang states in a separate story. The team has been through hot and cold stretches, but has used a strong rebounding performance to win five of its last six games. “I think lately what really has become an identity is Bam (Adebayo), Kel’el (Ware), (Andrew Wiggins) putting pressure on the boards,” Pelle Larsson said. “And if we can do that, we can push the pace and do that, people are going to get really tired of us.”
Heat Notes: Jaquez, Larsson, Adebayo, Herro
Jaime Jaquez Jr. has become one of the NBA’s top reserves in his third season, and his Heat teammates view him as a legitimate contender for Sixth Man of the Year honors, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes in a subscriber-only story. Jaquez, who has started just once in his 33 appearances this season, leads the league with 530 points off the bench and is at or near the top in several other categories.
“He definitely should be in the category for Sixth Man of the Year,” Norman Powell said. “He’s been doing a great job all year in putting his imprint on the game and helping us win close games or helping us open up some games with his play style and the force of his downhill attacks that he comes with every single night.”
Jaquez was a member of the All-Rookie Team in 2024, but he suffered through a disappointing second season and was eventually pulled from the rotation. He acknowledges that it took a lot of “hard work” to bring his game back up to the standards of his first year.
“You realize how much you love basketball, how much fun it is to play every single night,” Jaquez said. “It’s really just having fun out there. It’s not fun not playing. Everybody wants to get on the court, so I’m just appreciating how fun the sport is.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Pelle Larsson is missing his second straight game tonight with a sprained right ankle, Chiang adds. Larsson had been listed as questionable, but he was downgraded to out shortly before game time.
- The Heat have received trade inquiries about Bam Adebayo, but are refusing to consider parting with their star big man, according to NBA analyst Zach Lowe (Twitter video link). “Would they ever include Bam in a package to clear their books and pivot to a younger direction? Other teams I know have for sure asked about Bam and have been told ‘Hell no,’” Lowe said. “As they sniff around at Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and other star players, all of those star players want to play with Bam. I do think the Heat will more than sniff around with Giannis’ situation.”
- With the Heat hoping to have Tyler Herro return soon from a toe contusion, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (subscription required) talked to Hawks coach Quin Snyder about the difficulty of reintroducing a dominant scorer, since Snyder has been going through the same experience with Trae Young. “A process, that’s what it is,” Snyder said. “And it’s a long runway. Everybody is not going to be acclimated to one another like immediately. … It’s minor adjustments for a lot of guys. And there’s a critical mass of things that you’re going through. You just keep working at it.”
Heat Notes: Larsson, Jaquez, Jovic, Ware
During a light portion of the Heat‘s schedule last month, guard Pelle Larsson missed five games (over 11 days) due to a sprained right ankle. As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes, Larsson sprained his left ankle on Monday against Denver and could end up missing a similar amount of games — the team plays five times over the next eight days.
“Comparing how it was when it happened now and then, it’s much better. So I’m expecting less time out,” said Larsson, who didn’t require an MRI this time. “I mean, Doc kind of ruled that out pretty quick when we were already at the game. So, and I kind of felt that, too, just the way, the pain level and stuff.”
The 24-year-old was able to get some side work in during Wednesday’s practice but has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest at Detroit, Winderman adds.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., a contender for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, has improved as a play-maker in his third NBA season, Winderman states in another story. The UCLA product dished out a career-high 11 assists on Monday and is averaging 4.8 assists per game, nearly double his totals over his first two seasons (2.6 and 2.5, respectively). “He has an ability to get downhill, get into the paint, use his physicality,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But, you know, the next layer of it is understanding that teams adjust and they bring a second defender, and he’s really been working at understanding where the open guys are and not predetermining anything. He’s been watching film on it, and he’s really improved quite a bit since last year.” Jaquez will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.
- After struggling in his first 19 games of the season, Nikola Jovic has looked like a different player over the past three games since he returned from an elbow injury, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jovic has been far more aggressive of late, averaging 17.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 5.3 APG while shooting 40.9% from long distance over that three-game span (24.0 MPG). The Serbian forward credited his family and a shift in his mentality for his improved play. “For me, it was to stop looking at basketball as a hobby and something that I love and look at it more as a job, as a profession because that’s who I am now,” Jovic said. “So, I come in every day with a different approach now, and I guess it has to stay that way.“
- While it’s a relatively small sample size, Kel’el Ware has been scorching hot from three-point range lately, pushing his season-long average up to 47.3%, per Chiang. The 21-year-old big man has converted 43 of his 91 outside looks thus far in his second season. “We just want to be open to the possibilities with Kel’el,” Spoelstra said. “He has great potential. He’s getting better. It’s not a linear improvement. Sometimes there are big jumps. Sometimes it’s a step back. And that’s what typically happens with young players. But I just really appreciate his approach every day. He comes in everyday open to the coaching and us driving him to get to a higher level.”
Southeast Notes: Bridges, Diabate, Wizards, Wiggins
Injuries continue to be a problem for the Hornets, whose standout rookies Kon Knueppel (right ankle sprain) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (left elbow sprain) were among the players inactive for Monday’s loss to Milwaukee.
Veteran forward Miles Bridges joined Charlotte’s list of injured players in the first quarter of that game when he landed on Gary Trent Jr.‘s foot and turned his right ankle. Bridges grabbed at the ankle in obvious discomfort and checked out of the game at the next whistle — he didn’t return.
As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, head coach Charles Lee didn’t have a formal update on Bridges after Monday’s game, so it’s not yet clear whether the 27-year-old will miss additional time as a result of his ankle injury.
“We’ll evaluate him (Tuesday) at practice,” Lee said. “Right ankle.”
We have more from across the Southeast:
- With Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee (right groin strain) both on the shelf for the Hornets, Moussa Diabate has started the team’s past three games at center and has handled the role admirably, averaging 12.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest with a 78.9% field goal percentage. Spencer Davies of RG.org spoke to Diabate about his path to his current role and his impact on the offensive glass, among other topics. The big man is under contract through 2026/27 on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that has turned into a bargain for Charlotte.
- Wizards forward Kyshawn George missed a second consecutive game on Monday vs. Phoenix due to a left hip flexor strain, while sharpshooter Corey Kispert sat out for a third game in a row as a result of a left hamstring strain, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Kispert, who has reportedly been the subject of some trade interest, has played just once since November 25 due to thumb and hamstring ailments.
- Andrew Wiggins‘ scoring average this season (16.4 points per game) remains below his career rate, but he has been at his best in the team’s past three games, putting up 21.7 PPG on .628/.571/.750 shooting. The Heat want to keep seeing the former No. 1 overall pick play with that sort of assertiveness offensively, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “They just tell me an aggressive me is the best version of myself,” Wiggins said on Monday. “So, I just got to stay with it and continuously do it.” Wiggins’ name has popped up in some trade rumors since the offseason, but there has been no indication as of late that Miami is looking to move him. He’s earning $28.2MM this season, with a $30.2MM player option for 2026/27.
Injury Notes: Knueppel, Adebayo, Bailey, Blazers
Hornets standout rookie Kon Knueppel left Friday night’s game against the Magic early due to a right ankle sprain, but he appears to have avoided a serious injury, writes Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer.
“Kon, he’s an insane competitor — he wants to come back for practice,” coach Charles Lee said on Sunday. “But I do think that he’s made good progress so far. He’s been able to do a little bit on the court, but we will continue to see how he responds every day. As of now, it’s a right ankle sprain, and we’ll kind of work day-to-day to see how he responds to treatment.”
Knueppel has been a key part of the Hornets’ rotation this season, averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on .478/.428/.897 shooting splits while starting 30 of the 31 games he’s played.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Dealing with nagging injuries, including lower back soreness, Bam Adebayo needed to take some time to let his body rest before returning to action for the Heat, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “He really needed this time,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.” Adebayo is considered probable for Monday’s game against the Nuggets after missing the club’s previous two contests.
- Rookie forward Ace Bailey missed Saturday’s Jazz win against the Spurs after leaving Utah’s previous contest against the Pistons early due to a left hip strain, as reported by ESPN. Jazz forward Kevin Love also sat out against San Antonio due to rest, per Andy Larson of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Trail Blazers have been particularly hit by injuries this season, and it’s hurting their play-in chances, Sean Highkin writes for the Rose Garden Report (subscriber link). Jrue Holiday has missed nearly six weeks with a right calf strain that was initially expected to sideline him for a week or two. Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle have both also missed time, and Scoot Henderson still has yet to play a game this season. “It’s the injuries, my friend,” head coach Tiago Splitter said on Friday when asked what’s holding his team back.
Heat Notes: Larsson, Jovic, Adebayo, Herro, Trade Deadline
Pelle Larsson scored a career-high 21 points Friday night as he returned to the Heat’s starting lineup after missing the previous five games with a left ankle sprain, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes in a subscriber-only story. Larsson’s shooting didn’t suffer from the layoff, as he connected on 9-of-13 attempts from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.
“You should have seen his rehab sessions, whether it was on the bike initially, it was just all out,” coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “Almost a level of throwing up. I walked in on one of those sessions, and then also his court sessions. He just pushes the envelope. And so, he had the conditioning. It’s different than game conditioning. But he was able to handle those 29 minutes. And you just see the glue intangibles that he provides.”
Larsson admitted being “pretty gassed” after his first game action in more than two weeks, but the Heat were glad to welcome him back, not just for his scoring but for the other things he does on the court. He brings a lot of intangibles that the team missed while losing eight of its previous nine games.
“We’re so happy to have him back in this lineup,” Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “He’s the ultimate energy guy, really just gives everybody life and the spark that we desperately needed. So the fact that he was able to come in after so many games missed and just play like that just shows how hard of a worker and how great of a player he is.”
There’s more on the Heat:
- Also returning Friday was Nikola Jovic, who was sidelined for four games due to a right elbow contusion/laceration, Chiang adds. Wearing a protective sleeve on his injured arm, Jovic suffered through a rough shooting night, going 3-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, but he contributed seven rebounds, four assists and a steal and finished as a plus-12 for the game. “I’m someone who when I miss shots, I get pretty mad,” Jovic admitted. “I’m pretty fired up. But during this time that I was injured, I talked a lot to assistant coaches and some of the people from the Heat and they helped me find a way to get back into (the game) quicker. … So, yeah it for sure helps and I think it helped me tonight. Even though I didn’t make a lot of them, I still felt great even shooting them.”
- Bam Adebayo will miss his second straight game tonight with soreness in his lower back. “He clearly is not moving well enough to compete. … He really needed this time,” Spoelstra said, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). “He’s definitely making progress. He really needed this time just to get … he was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.” Tyler Herro, who has played just once in the last nine games due to a right big toe contusion, is “definitely making progress,” Spoelstra adds (Twitter link).
- In a full story for The Sun Sentinel (subscription required), Winderman makes the case for why the Heat should be sellers at the trade deadline and argues that Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell should be moved to improve the team’s draft assets.
Injury Notes: Knueppel, Sengun, Fox, Davis, Adebayo
Hornets wing Kon Knueppel, one of the early frontrunners for Rookie of the Year, suffered a right ankle injury late in the second quarter of Friday’s game in Orlando and was ruled out for the second half of the eventual win, the team announced (via Twitter). Knueppel appeared to come down on Desmond Bane‘s foot after contesting a floater near the basket, causing him to roll his ankle (Twitter video link).
Head coach Charles Lee said after the game that X-rays on Knueppel’s ankle were negative, tweets Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Rockets big man Alperen Sengun is dealing with left calf tightness and is listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest vs. Cleveland, according to the NBA’s official injury report (hat tip to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com). The 23-year-old was also questionable for Thursday’s game at the Lakers prior to being upgraded to available. Sengun made his first All-Star appearance in 2024/25 and there’s a good chance he’ll be in the exhibition game again in 2025/26 if he maintains his current level of production. Through 26 games, the Turkish center is averaging 22.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block in 35.6 minutes per contest.
- Former All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, who had a huge first half on Thursday in leading the Spurs to their third straight victory over Oklahoma City, is questionable for Saturday’s game vs. Utah due to left adductor tightness, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Fox had appeared in each of San Antonio’s past 22 games after missing the first eight contests of the season with a hamstring injury.
- While Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Anthony Davis is expected to miss multiple games with a mild right groin strain, the Mavericks have listed the five-time All-NBA forward/center as questionable for Saturday’s matchup at Sacramento with right adductor soreness, per Marc Stein (Twitter link). Davis exited Thursday’s loss at Golden State after experiencing groin spasms. The hip adductor muscles are part of the medial (middle) thigh and injuries to the area are often called groin strains.
- The Heat will be cautious with Bam Adebayo‘s injury, head coach Erik Spoelstra said ahead of Friday’s game vs. Atlanta, which the star big man missed due to lower back soreness. “I think if we handle it now, he’ll be fine,” Spoelstra said after Friday morning’s shootaround, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He’s pretty sore.” Miami had lost eight of its past nine games entering Friday, but bounced back with a decisive victory over the struggling Hawks.
Heat Notes: Ware, Larsson, Jovic, Adebayo, Jaquez
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra seems to deliver far more criticism than praise in his public comments about Kel’el Ware, but the second-year center is used to that, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). Ware got the same feedback in college, first from Dana Altman at Oregon and then from Mike Woodson at Indiana, so he has learned how to handle it.
“I’ve been getting coached like that,” Ware said. “So it’s not much of a big thing to me, I would say. I just take it as they want to see me be better and be a better version of myself.”
Spoelstra challenged Ware over the summer to “improve his professionalism” and has stated that he needs to find ways to impact games rather than just collecting stats. Ware’s numbers have improved this season, but Spoelstra still wants more, especially on defense.
”He’s handling it appropriately when he’s being held accountable to winning things,” Spoelstra said. “It doesn’t have to be like a negative thing. We all want the same thing. We want a better result. We want growth faster. I want him to be like he’s 28, and that’s not realistic. And a little bit of impatience is good, as long as everybody handles it appropriately. But his play, obviously, is improving, and I want to feel that.”
There’s more from Miami:
- The Heat are getting closer to having a healthy roster, as Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jovic are both listed as probable for Friday’s game at Atlanta, Chiang adds. Larsson has missed the past five games with a sprained left ankle, and Jovic has sat out the last four with a right elbow contusion/laceration.
- Bam Adebayo has been downgraded to doubtful for the contest due to lower back soreness, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link). That could help explain Adebayo’s recent slump, as he’s averaging just 11.8 points over his last four games while shooting 37.5% from the field.
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. is scoring consistently again after his production stagnated for a while in late November and early December, Winderman notes in a full story (subscription required). Jaquez delivered 23 and 21 points off the bench in his last two outings. “I think it’s just playing confident, understanding now it’s my third year, there’s going to be ups and downs and just got to continue to play confident, play with the same tenacity of whether you’re playing well, playing not so well,” he said. “So that’s just really my mentality.”
Heat Notes: Slump, Adebayo, Herro, Larsson, Jovic, Ware
While head coach Erik Spoelstra thought the Heat showed some positive signs in consecutive road losses in Boston and New York, he was left searching for answers following the team’s third straight defeat on Tuesday, a lopsided home loss to Toronto, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“This is not what I would have predicted,” Spoelstra said following Tuesday’s 21-point loss. “I thought we were ready. I thought we had a good session this morning. I thought coming off of our last two games, on the road, even though there were losses, there were way more good things than negative things. In the New York game, we competed with a great spirit. That kind of game, you win a lot of games. But I don’t even know right now.”
As Chiang details, Miami entered December with a 13-7 record and the NBA’s 13th-ranked offense and third-ranked defense. But the team has gone just 2-8 so far this month, the worst mark in the league, with an offensive rating that ranks 27th and a defensive rating that ranks 18th over that stretch to fall back to .500 (15-15).
Third-year wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. said each player on the team needs to take accountability for his performance, starting with himself.
“I think it all starts individually,” Jaquez said. “We all got to look ourselves in the mirror. I know I can do a lot more. There’s a lot more that I know I can bring to this team. And just got to go dig deep and find it, bring it out. That goes for every one of us. It’s a tough stretch right now, and we’re really going to discover who we are in this time. And I’m confident in this team, I’m confident in this locker room. It’s something that we’re just going to have to battle through.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- Bam Adebayo has been in an offensive rut that coincides with the Heat’s slide down the standings, Chiang writes in another story. While the team’s new free-flowing offense earned praise early in the season, it has limited some of the go-to actions the Heat used to run for the three-time All-Star big man. Adebayo is taking fewer shots at the rim and more from long distance, but he has only converted 31.4% of his three-point looks, one of the worst marks in the league among players with four-plus attempts per game, Chiang notes. “It sucks,” Adebayo said of his ongoing shooting slump. “But it’s part of the NBA, it’s a long season. So fighting through whatever I’ve got to fight through, figure out how I can impact winning and do that instead of focusing on shots not falling. Just play basketball and shots will eventually start falling.”
- Adebayo is dealing with lower back soreness and is questionable for Friday’s matchup at Atlanta, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays. Guard Tyler Herro will miss his sixth straight game due to a right big toe contusion, but Pelle Larsson (left ankle sprain) and Nikola Jovic (right elbow contusion/laceration) are probable to suit up against the Hawks, Winderman adds. Larsson has been out for the past five games, while Jovic has been sidelined for the past four.
- Knicks head coach Mike Brown was effusive in his praise of Kel’el Ware after Sunday’s loss in New York, according to Chiang. The second-year Heat center had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 28 points (on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long distance) and 19 rebounds in 35 minutes. “I’ll tell you, Kel’el Ware, he was a beast tonight on the glass,” Brown said at the start of his post-game press conference on Sunday. “This is one of the very few times we got our behinds kicked on the glass, and a lot of it is attributed to him and the way he rebounded on both ends of the floor, and then he shot the mess out of the basketball. We told our guys he’s been shooting it really well. We just didn’t get to his body. It’s a little tough because he’s seven feet. So, with a guy like that, you almost got to close all the way to his chest just to try to hopefully make him put it on the floor.”