Heat’s Tyler Herro cleared from protocols, available Saturday vs. Jazz
Tyler Herro is back with the Miami Heat after another pitstop in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Held out of Thursday night’s 101-94 victory over the Houston Rockets at the start of the Heat’s seven-game trip, Herro was on the team flight to Salt Lake City, where the Heat will face the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
While it was the first game Herro missed this season due to pandemic protocols, he previously was held out of a practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, after a housemate tested positive, with that ultimately proving to be a false positive.
The Heat issued a statement Friday on Twitter that read, “Tyler Herro accompanied the team to Salt Lake City last night for tomorrow night’s game vs the Jazz and is no longer in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Friday’s victory that he learned of Herro’s absence only seconds before his pregame team meeting.
“We’ve dealing with this for five weeks,” Spoelstra said of losing players due to protocols. “We have incredible mental toughness and stability in that locker room and as a staff, because we’ve been dealing with it. We’re not making any excuses for it. This has been going on for five weeks and guys have been able to stay focused on the task at hand.”
Among others who have missed time this season for the Heat due to pandemic protocols have been Bam Adebayo, Avery Bradley, Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Kendrick Nunn, Moe Harkless, KZ Okpala and Udonis Haslem.
Herro said he dealt with a bout of COVID-19 last spring during the NBA’s midseason shutdown, then showing no aftereffects with his strong play in the Disney World quarantine bubble utilized to complete last season.
It is not unusual for a player to be flagged after a test result, then subsequently quickly be cleared to return, as happened to Nunn in a similar situation shortly before a game this season. Nunn was cleared to return during that game, which apparently was not the case with Herro on Thursday night. NBA players are tested for coronavirus multiple time per day.
Herro’s return will bolster a backcourt depleted by the ankle sprain of Goran Dragic and calf strain of Avery Bradley, with both players remaining behind in South Florida. Bradley has already been ruled out for the trip, with it unlikely Dragic would be able to make it back for any of the remaining six games.
With Herro and those two out, the Heat utilized two-way players Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in Thursday’s backcourt rotation.
Also way from the team due to injury are Meyers Leonard (shoulder surgery) and Chris Silva (strained left hip flexor).
