The good news for the Miami Heat is that they've gone 6-4 in their last 10 games. After starting the month of December completely falling apart, they ended the month much better than they started it, and have started January 2-1. Still, the Heat have their troubles, and injuries are one of them.
The not-so-good news is that Tyler Herro remains on ice, and his injury — a right big toe contusion — has kept him out of Miami's last 10 games. Considering he's averaging 23.2 points this season, that's a significant chunk of offense the Heat are leaving at the door. These are buckets the Heat could desperately use.
Again, the Heat are playing better of late, but Herro's prolonged absence is concerning; he's played just 6 games this season. However, over the weekend, Erik Spoelstra offered up an explanation, if you can call it that, regarding Herro's injury and return, and his status for Miami's Sunday game against New Orleans drew in some confusion.
Tyler Herro is available to play, but Erik Spoelstra appears to be playing the long game
After winning four games in a row, the Heat dropped last Friday's contest to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Miami bounced back on Sunday, taking out the Pelicans. According to ClutchPoints, Herro was upgraded to "questionable" early in the day and was made "available" for the game before tip-off. Herro, however, did not play.
Confusing? Yes, it is. Listening to Spoelstra explain why he's not ready to put Herro back out there just yet only served up more questions than answers, especially if Herro is "available" to play. Coach Spo spoke to ClutchPoints about Herro's status and seemed to run circles around the question, answering it, but not giving much to go on.
“Well, he's putting in a lot of work. He's getting closer,” Spoelstra said. “This is just more to get the mindset, you know, ready for the next step. He'll be traveling with us, but, you know, he's still day to day. I don't have an exact date on when he'll be ready.”
According to Spoelstra, Herro's eventual return will depend on the mental aspect, as with the physical. Miami is about to head on the road for four games, two of them against quality opponents in the West, the Timberwolves, again, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat could sure benefit from Herro's 20+ points per game at this time.
There's another element in the middle of this to consider: Herro's status with the Heat, future tense. Trade rumors have swirled in Miami essentially since the early stages of the season, and lately, Herro's name has come up often. That said, a Herro trade is not something the Heat should focus on as it relates to playing and winning games. They need his shooting, and getting him back on this roadtrip would be massive.