The Heat has been whole, with every key rotation player available, for just a small fraction of its games this season. That’s about to change.
Guard Tyler Herro – who has missed the past 15 games with a rib injury – was a full participant in practice Thursday, Miami’s first session after the All-Star break, and is listed as probable for Friday’s game at Atlanta (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun).
“We will see how he responds when we get to Atlanta,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked if he will play Friday. “It’s encouraging to have him back in the mix. We’re all excited about it.”
If Herro surprisingly doesn’t play Friday, he likely would play in Saturday’s home game against Memphis.
Speaking publicly for the first time in more than a month, Herro on Thursday confirmed a Miami Herald report that he sustained three fractured ribs. He said what initially was intense pain has now subsided.
“There’s not too much discomfort anymore compared to where I was three or four weeks ago,” he said. “I couldn’t even get out of bed. It was crazy. There was nothing I could magically do to fix my ribs. I had three fractured ribs. My ribs were in a lot of pain.
“Doing normal lifestyle things, I couldn’t do. There was no way I could play basketball. I can fully move how I’m supposed to now. Just focused on staying healthy the rest of the season.”
Herro, who was noncommittal about whether he will be available to play on Friday, sustained a buckle rib fracture during the Heat’s Jan. 10 road loss to the Indiana Pacers. Herro played the next three games with the help of Toradol shots to ease the pain but said “I couldn’t do that the rest of the season.” A subsequent MRI on his ribs revealed the severity of the injury.
“Let’s not forget: Tyler is a talent,” Spoelstra said. “We are bringing back an All-Star after the All-Star break. Yes, it’s been a frustrating season for him, only being available for 11 games. We need our guys available. We need our talent out there. We need to maximize our rotation.”
Herro, who turned 26 on Jan. 20, missed the first 17 games of the season due to offseason ankle surgery, 13 games because of a toe contusion and now 15 consecutive games because of this rib injury.
In his 11 appearances this season, Herro averaged 21.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and one steal per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range.
Missing so much time has “been real, real frustrating,” he said. “As a competitor, somebody who loves playing the game more than anything... it’s hard for me to just sit out and not be able to play it.
“It’s been a rough year for me. There are about 25 games left, so I’m going to try to stay healthy and try to put some good basketball together in the last couple of months.”
Spoelstra wasn’t divulging his lineup plans. “There will be some levels of sacrifice throughout the rotation,” he said. “It has to be that way if all the guys are available. We’ve got to get our guys out there. We are two games over .500. We have some ground to make up.”
For his part, Herro said: “Whatever minutes I get, I’m just happy to be out here again playing with teammates.”
This and that
▪ Guard Norman Powell - who missed the final two games before the All Star break with a back injury and played in the All Star game - is listed as questionable for Friday’s game because of that ailment. He practiced fully Thursday and said afterward that his back is “getting better.”
Fresh off winning the slam dunk competition at All-Star weekend, forward Keshad Johnson missed practice with a calf injury. Like Powell, Johnson is listed as questionable.
▪ Myron Gardner, who was converted from a two-way contract to a standard contract on Wednesday, said Spoelstra called with the news earlier this week, while Gardner was driving around his hometown of Detroit.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” he said. “I almost had to pull over.”
As Gardner recalled, Spoelstra said to him “How’s the break going? How you doing? Congratulations, you are no longer on a two-way.”
Gardner called his first standard NBA contract a “dream come true.”