Tyler Herro

Florida Notes: Butler, Highsmith, Carter, Fultz

December 30th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have a new injury concern with Jimmy Butler, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Returning to the lineup after missing the previous four games with a left calf strain, Butler had to leave Saturday’s contest at Utah after hurting his right foot in a collision with Collin Sexton. According to Chiang, Butler walked slowly to Miami’s bench after the play and then headed to the locker room.

Head coach Eric Spoelstra wasn’t able to offer an update on Butler’s condition after the game, but X-rays taken on his foot were negative. Chiang states that the team will see how Butler is feeling over the next few days before deciding whether to perform an MRI.

Chiang notes that Butler has already missed eight games this season and may have to add to that total. With Tyler Herro sidelined for a long stretch due to a sprained ankle and Bam Adebayo dealing with nagging injuries, the team’s three best players have only been together for eight games.

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Haywood Highsmith was helped to the locker room in the final seconds of Saturday’s game after he also collided with Sexton and was hit in the head and neck area, Chiang adds. Injuries have already caused Highsmith to miss 11 games. The Heat were using their 18th different starting lineup of the season Saturday, as ongoing injuries gave rare starts to Nikola Jovic and two-way player R.J. Hampton.
Goga Bitadze was back in the Magic‘s starting lineup on Friday, but he didn’t find out about the assignment until an hour before game time, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Wendell Carter Jr.‘s right knee flared up during warm-ups and he was ruled out because of tendinitis. “Honestly, even before the game I thought he was going to play,” Bitadze said. “We talked with him an hour before the game. I don’t want to say it was hard, but it was different. You’ve got to lock in differently when you start the games than when you come off the bench. I had to lock in and find a place [mentally] where I was ready to start. I think I did a good job and it was a great win.” Coach Jamahl Mosley said the medical staff will monitor Carter closely as he continues to work his way back after missing 20 games with an injured left hand.
Markelle Fultz is listed as questionable for the Magic‘s contest Sunday at Phoenix, meaning there’s a chance he could return after missing 23 games with tendinitis in his left knee, Beede adds.

Heat Notes: Injury Updates, Trade Assets, Lowry

December 27th, 2023 at 6:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even with half the rotation listed on the injury report, there was good news for the Heat as they gathered today for their final practice before leaving on a five-game West Coast trip, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jimmy Butler, who has missed three straight games with a strained left calf, and Josh Richardson, who was unavailable Monday due to lower back discomfort, were both partial participants in practice. Haywood Highsmith, who sat out Monday due to illness, was able to participate fully.

“I feel much better now,” Highsmith said. “Still trying to catch my wind. Get my breathing down and my chest down. Trying to get up and down, conditioning and stuff, but I feel much better. I think I lost some pounds from not eating and sweating a lot. But I’m good now.”

Miami also got an encouraging update on Caleb Martin, who sprained his ankle in the first quarter Monday and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Martin didn’t practice today and it’s not certain if he’ll be able to play during the trip, but he appears to have avoided a major injury.

“I’m feeling a lot better than expected,” he said. “… X-ray came back clean. So everything, for the most part, is good. Just being smart and taking it day by day. There’s some swelling and bruising, so just working with that.”

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Miami seems to be mentioned as a potential destination for every star who becomes available, but Heat players are confident that the current roster can compete for a title if there’s not a major addition before the trade deadline, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The organization didn’t land Damian Lillard, who was rumored to be headed to Miami all summer, and it lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus from last season’s NBA Finals team, but it has remained competitive, sitting at fifth place in the East at 18-12. Vardon points out that the Heat still have plenty of draft assets and young talent on hand to make a run at any of the available players in Chicago or Toronto or even Donovan Mitchell if Cleveland decides to part with him.
Among the reasons for the Heat’s success is point guard Kyle Lowry, who continues to be productive at age 37, Vardon adds. Lowry is starting and averaging 29.3 minutes per game during his 18th NBA season, and he made an impression on his former coach in Monday’s contest against Philadelphia. “When the ball goes up, man, deep down inside, he just competes,” said Nick Nurse, who spent several years with Lowry in Toronto. “I can’t tell you the amount of times that we talked about ‘We’re going to take you out here, we’re going to play you this amount of minutes,’ … and when the ball went up and the game got tough and we needed him out there, he wanted to be out there. He’d crash right through all those plans and keep on playing and keep making plays.”
The Heat also have a talented young core in place that can keep the franchise competitive after veterans like Lowry and Butler are gone, observes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel, who envisions a future built around Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez.

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Two-Way Players, Butler, Herro

December 26th, 2023 at 2:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

With Jimmy Butler missing a third straight game, Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez turned in a Butler-style performance with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Monday’s win over Philadelphia, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. It marks the latest achievement in a remarkable first season for Jaquez, who has long dreamed of being part of the NBA’s Christmas showcase.

“Definitely special,” he said. “Great to get a win. Career night, on Christmas … I grew up watching these games. To be able to play and have a career night, it just, I just go back to all the hard work, late nights in the gym, just preparing for moments like this.”

Jaquez is proving that he entered the NBA ready to play right away after spending four seasons in college. Injuries have given him opportunities on a team coming off a Finals appearance, and he has found ways to contribute without being a focal point of the offense.

“I don’t think I called one play for him tonight, literally,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I mean, they were in his zone most of the second half. But throughout the rest of the course of the game, I definitely did not call it one play for him. And he did with offensive rebounding, transition, cuts, timely threes, just a lot of plays in between, so you don’t really think that it’s, you know, a 30-point game.”

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Caleb Martin is the latest injury concern for a Heat team that has been shorthanded all season, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Making his 10th straight start after missing the beginning of the season with a knee injury, Martin was ruled out of Monday’s contest after spraining his ankle midway through the first quarter. Two-way players Jamal Cain and R.J. Hampton saw double-digit minutes Monday and may have expanded roles while the rest of the roster heals. “They have prepared for that,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not easy for the players in their situation where you don’t know if you’re going to play. And most nights, you probably have an idea that you’re not going to play. But you still have to stay ready and things change so quickly in this league.”
Butler will travel with the team as it begins a five-game road trip and Heat officials are optimistic that he will be able to return soon, Chiang adds. There was hope that his calf strain had healed enough for him to play Monday, but an illness prevented that from happening.
Tyler Herro has been a steady presence since returning from a sprained ankle that caused him to miss 18 games, Chiang states in a separate story. Herro is averaging career highs with 24.0 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting a career-best 45.9% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range.

Heat Notes: Herro, Adebayo, Rotation, Lowry, Jovic

December 19th, 2023 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

After missing 18 and seven consecutive games, respectively, Tyler Herro (right ankle sprain) and Bam Adebayo (left hip contusion) returned from their injuries on Monday when the Heat hosted Minnesota. Although Miami lost the game to the Western Conference’s top seed, Herro and Adebayo didn’t show many signs of rust, combining for 47 total points on 20-of-40 shooting against the NBA’s best defense.

As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscriber link) writes, while having Herro and Adebayo back is obviously good news for the Heat, it will create some rotation decisions for head coach Erik Spoelstra. Duncan Robinson and Orlando Robinson had been regular starters with Herro and Adebayo out, but both players returned to the bench on Monday, with Orlando not playing at all.

The Heat used nine players on Monday, but Kyle Lowry (soreness), who typically has a fairly significant role, wasn’t active. With that in mind, Winderman wonders if one of those nine players – perhaps Josh Richardson – will become the victim of a rotation crunch when everyone is healthy or if Spoelstra will decide to regularly use 10 players.

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Lowry was carrying a heavy workload while the Heat were shorthanded due to injuries, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, so the veteran guard’s absence on Monday seemed more like an effort to get him a rest day than a result of any serious health issue. Spoelstra declined on Monday to say whether Lowry would be given more time off, per Winderman. “We treat everything on a game-by-game basis,” the Heat coach said.
Because the incentives in Herro’s contract are tied to postseason awards like All-NBA, MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year, the team now knows for sure that he won’t earn any of those bonuses this season, since he’ll fall short of the 65-game minimum required to qualify, Winderman writes for The Sun Sentinel (subscription required). That means Herro’s 2024/25 cap hit will remain at $29MM rather than increasing, which is useful information for the team to have as it weighs potential roster moves with an eye on next season’s salary.
JC Butler, the son of Heat assistant coach Caron Butler, has joined the team’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, as Winderman details in the same story. The younger Butler went undrafted out of UC Irvine in 2022.
Nikola Jovic continues to bounce back and forth between the NBA and the G League, according to Chiang, who writes that the second-year forward is expected to return to the Skyforce on Tuesday to take part in the G League’s Winter Showcase in Orlando. “We want to get him game minutes, as much as possible,” Spoelstra said. Jovic added that he’s being “patient” and still feels as if the organization believes in him despite the lack of opportunities at the NBA level.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Herro, Jovic, Hampton, More

December 16th, 2023 at 11:09am CST by Earnest Marshall

Time is no longer on Heat center Bam Adebayo‘s side when it comes to potentially earning a super-max contract extension after the season, writes The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.

In order to be eligible for a super-max deal worth 35% of the cap, Adebayo has to either earn a spot on the All-NBA team or be named the league’s MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. And in order to be eligible for any of those honors, he must play in at least 65 games as a result of changes made in the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Adebayo has already missed nine games this season, including six in a row. That means he can only miss up to eight more before he’s deemed ineligible for those awards. Adebayo is nearing a return to the court and is expected back sometime in December, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, but another injury or two in the coming months could cost him a shot at super-max eligibility in 2024.

Adebayo is in the middle of a strong season, averaging 22.3 points and 9.9 rebounds for the 14-11 Heat. If he’s able to stay healthy, he should be a candidate for both an All-NBA nod and for the Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s finished in the top five in voting in the latter in each of the past four seasons.

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Adebayo isn’t the only key player the Heat are expecting back soon. We recently wrote Tyler Herro is expected back soon and Jackson says he’s targeting a Dec. 18 return. Herro hasn’t played since Nov. 8. R.J. Hampton also recently returned for the Heat, logging roughly nine minutes against the Bulls on Thursday in his first action since Oct. 28.
In the second of a three-part series, Jackson explores potential trades the Heat could make with Western Conference teams. However, there aren’t many options that are either easy or make much sense. Jackson mentions Lauri Markkanen‘s supposed availability, but writes the Jazz would rightly want a huge return and any other trade with Utah could limit the team’s availability to re-sign Caleb Martin. Other teams exploring trades, like the Spurs and the Warriors, don’t have many packages that make sense for Miami either.
Center Thomas Bryant and two-way player Jamal Cain have both seen their roles fluctuate with the Heat this season, observes the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Bryant opened the year as Adebayo’s primary backup, but fell out of the rotation and remained that way even with Adebayo out. Meanwhile, Cain had a strong summer and sought a standard deal but ultimately ended back up on a two-way deal that limits him to 50 regular season games. However, both players are continuing to stay ready for any opportunity, which coach Erik Spoelstra commented was “never easy.” Bryant has responded by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds in about 27 minutes over his last two appearances. Cain meanwhile, scored 14 points in just under 29 minutes against the Hornets on Wednesday.

And-Ones: Panic, Trade Candidates, Awards, Atkinson, Thabeet

December 15th, 2023 at 8:51pm CST by Rory Maher

Which teams that hoped to be contenders entering 2023/24 should be panicking after slow starts? John Hollinger of The Athletic explores that topic, with the Warriors topping his list (an eight on a scale of one-to-10).

The indefinite suspension of Draymond Green and the poor play of Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson “presents a dilemma” for Golden State, which just won the title two seasons ago. The Warriors will be faced with many difficult decisions in the coming months, Hollinger notes, with Thompson’s expiring contract looming large.

The Raptors (seven), Hawks (six), Grizzlies (five) and Suns (four) also hold places on Hollinger’s “Panic Meter” for various reasons.

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Speaking of the Raptors, two of their starters — Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby — are at the top of the trade candidate big board compiled by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Bulls guard Zach LaVine ranks third on the 25-player list, followed by his Chicago teammates DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso.
Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press takes a look at the early impact of the NBA’s new 65-game requirement for awards, writing that Heat guard Tyler Herro (ankle) and Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (thumb surgery) are among the noteworthy players who won’t meet that requirement due to injuries, with many others having missed several games already. Herro has accepted that he won’t have a shot at a postseason award. “Next year then,” Herro said. “Or the year after that.”
Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson has joined the staff of the French national team, per a team press release. Atkinson, formerly the head coach of the Nets, interviewed for several NBA head coaching jobs in recent years.
Hasheem Thabeet, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2009 draft, is signing a contract with the Kaohsiung Steelers, a Taiwanese team, agent Jerry Dianis tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Thabeet appeared in 224 NBA games with the Grizzlies, Rockets, Blazers and Thunder, but has been out of the league since the ’13/14 season.

Southeast Notes: Carter, Fultz, Herro, Bam, Hawks

December 13th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Injured Magic starters Markelle Fultz and Wendell Carter Jr. were partial practice participants on Wednesday, head coach Jamahl Mosley told reporters, including Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required).

“It was a great day for them,” Mosley said.

Fultz has been sidelined since November 9 with left knee tendinitis, having missed the past 15 games. Carter has been out even longer, as he sustained his injury — a broken left hand — on November 4.

According to Beede, Carter said his left hand isn’t quite full strength yet, calling it “85-90%.”

“It’s like right at the last bit of my recovery. … I just kind of look at each day as an opportunity to allow it get better,” he said.

It’s unclear when Fultz, a guard, and Carter, a center, might return to action, but it’s certainly encouraging that they seem to be getting close. Fultz will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024, while Carter is under contract through 2025/26.

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No firm timetable was given, but Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears the Heat could be getting a couple key contributors back in the next couple weeks. Guard Tyler Herro (ankle sprain) and center Bam Adebayo (hip contusion) are expected to return prior to Miami’s West Coast trip that begins on December 28, according to Winderman. Herro has been out since November 8, while Adebayo has missed the past four games.
Hawks guard Trae Young was ejected during Monday’s loss against Denver for continually complaining about a non-foul call, which Jeff Schultz of The Athletic views as a sign of his immaturity. Young is the team’s best offensive player, but he doesn’t lead in the locker room or by example on the court, according to Schultz. At 9-13, Atlanta is off to a disappointing start, and Schultz says if things don’t turn around, the “unproven” front office and Young will be under the microscope, as head coach Quin Snyder was just hired at the end of last season.
At one point in the first quarter on Monday, Atlanta led Denver by 11 points. That lead turned into a 20-point deficit in the third quarter, when Young was ejected. Despite the loss, the Hawks mounted a furious comeback to make it competitive late, led by a huge performance by wing Bogdan Bogdanovic (a career-high 40 points, including 10 three-pointers), who could be trending toward a career year, writes Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscriber link). “Insane,” Clint Capela said. “I love it. Especially for Bogi. Because he’s the guy that I always see it in the weight room with me after games. He’s always the guy that I see after practice get more reps than everyone. … He’s doing everything right. And he deserved that.”

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Adebayo, O. Robinson, Herro

December 2nd, 2023 at 7:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jaime Jaquez knew where he wanted to go in the draft, and he got his wish when Miami selected him with the 18th pick, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Projected as a mid-first rounder after spending four years at UCLA, Jaquez was aware that he might still be on the board for Miami’s selection and he was hoping for the chance to work with two legends.

“I think when it comes to basketball, just being under (team president) Pat Riley and coach Spo (Erik Spoelstra), I don’t think you could ask for two better guys when it comes to basketball to play under and learn from,” Jaquez said. “So that was a big reason. I also didn’t want to stay in L.A. for all my life. I wanted to get out and be somewhere new, kind of challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone. So coming to Miami was a spot that I always really loved. I had been here before a couple times and I just loved the city, loved everything about it. So I just really wanted to come here.”

The Heat are thrilled with the production they’ve gotten from Jaquez, who has been pressed into extra duty since an early-season injury to Tyler Herro. He has responded by averaging 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals in his first 19 NBA games. Chiang also notes that his shooting touch has been excellent — 52.9% from the field, 39% from three-point range and 87.5% from the free throw line — and he’s an asset on defense as well.

“He’s playing winning basketball,” Spoelstra said. “He’s able to complement a lot of different lineups. He’s eating up everything right now and he’s a smart player. So he picks up things quickly. But the biggest thing is he’s a competitor, he’s a mature player and those type of characteristics can fit in with what we’re trying to do.”

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Bam Adebayo will miss tonight’s game with a left hip contusion and he won’t travel with the team for Wednesday’s contest in Toronto, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Chiang points out that Miami has a lull in its schedule with just three games over nine days, so Adebayo will have a chance to heal (Twitter link).
Orlando Robinson‘s contract became guaranteed for $850K on Friday, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The second-year center will receive his full $1.8MM salary if he remains on the roster through the league-wide guarantee date of January 7.
The Heat’s rotation has changed since Herro was injured, and Spoelstra will have to make more adjustments when he returns, observes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman notes that when Herro sprained his ankle on November 8, Caleb Martin wasn’t playing significant minutes, Josh Richardson was still adjusting to the team and Jaquez hadn’t scored more than 11 points in a game. There were also questions about whether Duncan Robinson and Haywood Highsmith could handle starting roles.

Heat Notes: Jaquez, Road Trip, Tournament, Jovic

November 27th, 2023 at 9:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jaime Jaquez entered the league surrounded by trade rumors. The Heat rookie tried to take it all in stride, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Jaquez, the 18th pick of the draft, was often mentioned as a part of the package that could go to Portland for Damian Lillard before the Bucks swooped in and acquired the perennial All-Star guard.

“Welcome to the league. That’s the job you’re in. I tried to stay focused,” Jaquez said. “I was in Miami and being professional. I’m here right now, so that’s what I’m going to focus on. Stay present and in the moment. Whatever happens will happen. Look on the bright side and enjoy it.”

Jaquez is off to a solid start in his pro career, averaging 11.2 points per game on 50.7% shooting.

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The Heat went 7-3 during a rugged stretch in which they played nine road games. Back home for seven of their next eight games, coach Erik Spoelstra saw a lot of positives from that 10-game gauntlet, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “Overall, we did what we set out to do, which is get to a higher level as a basketball team,” Spoelstra said. “We wanted to push ourselves to a different level than where we were and these two road trips pushed us to a better level.”
It’s rare to call any game a must-win in November but in terms of the in-season tournament, the Heat have to defeat Milwaukee on Tuesday to give themselves a chance to claim a quarterfinal spot, Chiang notes. Miami is currently tied for second place with the Knicks with a 2-1 record. The Bucks are undefeated in three tournament games. “I think we thought early on that this was good for the league and you don’t know what to expect until you’re actually in it. … It’s definitely piquing everybody’s interest,” Spoelstra said
Some apparent disparaging comments made by second-year forward Nikola Jovic were taken out of context, he told Chiang and other reporters. An interview with the Serbian media was translated to English on Reddit. Among those comments, Jovic supposedly claimed he deserved to play and was being “misused.” He also talked about playing center in the G League and occasionally with the Heat and supposedly commented, “Everything I’m good at, they don’t seem to use, and what I’m worse at, they seem to force it.” Jovic said after Monday’s practice he simply told the Serbian media he was better at power forward than center, adding “Basically what I said, this team is playing great without me and minute-wise I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. This team is playing great, so there’s no point of even playing me right now. And I get it, I totally get it.”
Jimmy Butler is questionable to play on Tuesday due to an ankle injury, while Tyler Herro remains sidelined due to his ankle issues, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Heat Not Pursuing Zach LaVine

November 24th, 2023 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat aren’t actively pursuing a trade for Bulls guard Zach LaVine, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who says he’d be surprised if that stance changes. Miami was previously cited as a destination LaVine would have interest in.

As Jackson explains, the Heat’s proximity to the tax aprons going forward is an important factor in their decision not to go after LaVine. Moving Tyler Herro as the centerpiece in a LaVine trade would significantly increase the team’s salary in future seasons, since Herro is owed $120MM over the next four years, while LaVine will make $178MM.

Herro is also five years younger than LaVine and is still improving as a scorer, so the Heat don’t particularly want to give him up in a deal for the Bulls guard, Jackson notes. Using Kyle Lowry‘s expiring contract and other pieces in an offer for LaVine would be another option, but that would create even higher tax penalties and more financial restrictions and in future seasons, and LaVine and Herro have overlapping skill sets.

Essentially, as Jackson writes, it sounds like the Heat don’t view LaVine as the sort of player who is worth surrendering key trade assets and sacrificing future flexibility for. The Bulls, on the other hand, have reportedly set a high asking price for the two-time All-Star, so the two teams are unlikely to agree on his value.

The Heat might have interest in guard Alex Caruso if Chicago makes him available, Jackson says, but he’s not sure the team would even part with a first-round pick for the defensive stalwart. If that’s the case, Miami almost certainly wouldn’t be the highest bidder for Caruso, who is expected to generate widespread interest.

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