Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) warms up before the first half of a game against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro hears the outside noise, but he doesn’t let it bother him anymore.
Herro’s recent return from offseason ankle surgery has coincided with the Heat’s worst stretch of the season, as it’s on a four-game skid and has five losses in its last six games after its strong 14-7 start to the season. That has led to some on the outside suggesting that the Heat is better without Herro, blaming him for the team’s recent struggles.
“Nothing new. It is what it is,” Herro, 25, said following Friday’s practice of his reaction to that outside narrative.
Does it annoy Herro?
“Uh, not really,” said Herro, who was the Heat’s lone All-Star last season. “I feel like real basketball heads know what’s going on. Twitter stuff is Twitter.”
The numbers don’t support that Herro has been among the Heat’s biggest problem during this rough patch.
Not only is Herro averaging an impressive 23.2 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the field, 40.5% shooting from three-point range and 92.3% shooting from the foul line in his first six games this season, but the Heat is also outscoring opponents by 3.6 points per 100 possessions in the 191 minutes that Herro has been on the court. In fact, in Tuesday’s 117-108 loss to the Orlando Magic at Kia Center, the Heat outscored the Magic by 8.1 points per 100 possessions in Herro’s minutes and was outscored by the Magic by 50 points per 100 possessions in the 14 minutes he was on the bench.
“It’s just a total overreaction that’s misguided. We need Tyler,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Friday. “And it will be a little bit of a process working him back into the mix. But to get where we need to go, we need Tyler’s skill and talent. We need our guys healthy, and that’s what we’re working on right now. We can be very dangerous when we get guys on the same page, committing to our identity, and Tyler’s a big part of that.”
Herro missed the first 17 games of the season because of September surgery on his left ankle, played in five games and then went out again with a right big toe contusion before returning to play in Tuesday’s loss to the Magic. The Heat is 3-3 in Herro’s six appearances this season.
“Still working toward it, for sure,” Herro said Friday when asked if he’s now 100% physically. “I still got some pain in my body, but I just want to be out here. So that’s all that matters.”
That’s what matters to the Heat, too, as Spoelstra noted that “I just like us having a full group to work through this.” And, yes, that includes Herro.
“Tyler has elite offensive skill talent that we need,” Spoelstra said, with the Heat in the middle of a long in-season break before resuming its schedule on Monday against the Toronto Raptors in Miami.. “What we want to do, we need all of our guys playing at a high level. And the more weapons you can have, the better.”
LARSSON UPDATE
Guard Pelle Larsson was the only Heat player who didn’t practice Friday after an MRI on his injured left ankle revealed a sprain and nothing more serious on Wednesday.
Larsson sprained his left ankle in the second quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the Magic in Orlando, exiting the contest with 4:21 left in the first half and not returning.
“I’m feeling good,” Larsson said Friday. “Thankfully, it wasn’t like a very forceful play. I was kind of just stepping backwards. And, you know, accidents happen, so I twisted my ankle a little bit. But I feel good. Recovering pretty quick and doing a great job together with the trainers right now to keep me in shape and also strengthen my ankle.”
The Heat expects Larsson to miss one to two weeks with the injury, but how his ankle responds to treatment will determine how long he’s sidelined. The good news for Larsson is the Heat has reached a quiet segment of its schedule, with only five games in the two weeks following his injury.
“Day by day is my timetable,” Larsson, 24, said. “I’m trying to do a little bit more day by day, but that’s what the docs were telling me.”
Getting Larsson back as soon as possible is important for the Heat, as he has established himself as a fixture in the Heat’s rotation. He has played in each of the 24 games he has been available for in his second NBA season.