Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Guard Herro questionable for Pistons rematch
Tyler Herro was listed as questionable for the Miami Heat’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day rematch against the Detroit Pistons at 3 p.m. Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The second-year guard missed the Heat’s 120-100 loss to the Pistons on Saturday due to neck spasms that also sidelined him for the second half of last Thursday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t have an update on Herro’s status during his avail
ability with the media Sunday afternoon.
“It just didn’t loosen up [Friday],” Spoelstra said on Saturday about Herro. “That was kind of to be expected. He’s been dealing with it for about a week. I think another day will be good for him.”
The Heat will be without Jimmy Butler and Avery Bradley due to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols against the Pistons on Monday, while Meyers Leonard remains out due to a strained left shoulder.
Gabe Vincent was also listed on the Heat’s injury report as probable with right knee soreness.
Butler and Bradley have both missed the Heat’s last three games after Miami’s matchup against the Celtics scheduled for last Sunday in Boston was postponed because the Heat didn’t have the league-required eight available players due to contact tracing.
Before last Sunday’s game was postponed, the Heat announced Bradley was ruled out due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
The Heat played with eight available players in their Tuesday and Thursday matchups against the 76ers due to having seven players in addition to Bradley unavailable because of health and safety protocols. Leonard has missed the team’s last three games due to his shoulder injury.
Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Moe Harkless, Udonis Haslem, Kendrick Nunn and KZ Okpala — all of whom were out against the 76ers last week due to health and safety protocols — were available for the Heat’s loss to the Pistons on Saturday, with Harkless and Haslem the lone players from that group of six to not play due to coach’s decision.
The turnaround in availability for the aforementioned six players indicates they had been sidelined due to contact tracing. Players who test positive for the coronavirus are expected to be out for at least 10 days.
Butler has only played in six of the Heat’s 11 games so far. In addition to the three games he’s been absent due to health and safety protocols, the All-Star forward missed two games due to a sprained ankle.
The Pistons, 3-9, will have the group who were responsible for the 20-point blowout win against the Heat available Monday afternoon.
Rookie guard Killian Hayes is set to miss his sixth consecutive game due to a strain on his right hip while Frank Jackson listed as probable with a left ankle sprain.
After Monday’s game, the Heat will embark on a four-game road trip that’ll consist of consecutive games against the Toronto Raptors (Wednesday and Friday) in Tampa — where the Raptors are playing because of Canada’s travel restrictions due to the pandemic — and Nets (Jan. 23 and Jan. 25) in Brooklyn.