Herro out with bruised quad; team down to 10 available
PHILADELPHIA — With some NBA rosters ravaged by COVID, the Miami Heat find themselves mostly with old- school absences, with Tyler Herro the latest member of the team sidelined by injury.
Herro was ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, due to a bruised right quadriceps sustained in Monday night’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the start of this four- game trip.
“He’s not being sent home, but he’s sore,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after the morning shootaround.
Herro was removed for good with 8: 48 to play Monday, after sustaining the contusion in the first half.
“Anybody that has an injury during a game, sometimes they can finish,” Spoelstra said of Herro playing on in Monday night’s game. “You never really can make an evaluation until how they feel the next day. And then oftentimes it’s two days later, how does somebody feel and how is the body responding.
“We’ll just continue to evaluate him every day.”
The Heat’s trip continues Friday against the Orlando Magic and concludes Sunday against the Detroit Pistons.
Herro joins Jimmy Butler ( bruised tailbone), Bam Adebayo ( thumb surgery), Markieff Morris ( whiplash) and Victor Oladipo ( knee rehab) on the injury list, with Caleb Martin in NBA health- and- safety protocols. Of those five, only Oladipo is traveling, but he is not expected to be cleared for a return in the foreseeable future.
That left the Heat with 10 players, two above the NBA required minimum, available for Wednesday night’s game: Kyle Lowry, P. J. Tucker, Duncan Robinson, Dewayne Dedmon, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, KZ Okpala, Omer Yurtseven, Udonis Haslem and Marcus Garrett.
As it is, Garrett is dealing with tendinitis in his right wrist.
“Yeah, my shooting wrist,” Garrett said. “I don’t know how it happened, I really don’t. I think it just came from a lot of reps. But that’s pretty much it.”
The undrafted rookie out of Kansas was signed to a two- way contract following summer league.
“He definitely brings a defensive disposition and he can really extend full court and apply pressure,” Spoelstra said. “He’s really unique. If you’re an opponent trying to enter offense against him, he can be really disruptive.
“I just want him to be who he is. He doesn’t have to like jump out, try to score 35 or 40.”
Herro previously missed three games this season: the Nov. 18 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards, due to a bruised right wrist; the Nov. 27 road victory over the Chicago Bulls, due to body soreness; and the Nov. 29 home loss to the Denver Nuggets, due to body soreness.
Coaching concern
With former Heat coach Alvin Gentry, who is serving as Sacramento Kings interim coach, joining the Indiana Pacers’ Rick Carlisle as coaches sidelined by protocols, Spoelstra was asked about concerns within the fraternity.
“This just continues to be unique and uncommon times right now,” Spoelstra said. “First and foremost, the number- one objective for everybody in this association is making sure that players and staff members are healthy. Secondly, we want this business to keep on going and flourishing, and we want to be able to do what we can do.
“So that is going to require more vigilance from everybody — mask wearing, social distancing, when that’s possible, and eventually more testing. And this is just where we are. This continues to be our new normal.”
In addition to the Heat’s concerns Wednesday, the 76ers announced ahead of the game against the Heat that forward Georges Niang had entered health- andsafety protocols.
Spoelstra said he expects the NBA to push through.
“But I don’t have any inside knowledge,” he stressed. “I think everybody is just starting to tighten it up, I think which is good. And everybody’s becoming more mindful. And we had to do it last year.
“There’s not a textbook or blueprint we can go to. We’re building it as we can go. But at least we can point to some of our experiences last year, when we had to be a little bit more mindful and vigilant in all of the areas.”