Latest updates on Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard. And more All-Star Weekend reactions
The Miami Heat was still a little shorthanded for its return to the practice court Wednesday. Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard, both of whom missed the entirety of the Heat’s five-game road trip heading into NBA All-Star Weekend, were both sidelined as Miami returned to action at AmericanAirlines Arena, and there is still no timetable for either to return.
The outlook for Herro is encouraging, particularly given the potentially scary nature of a foot injury. The wing said Friday he briefly thought his injury could keep him out until close to the start of the NBA playoffs. Instead, the plan is for the rookie to get the boot off his right foot sometime this week.
“The outlook is way more optimistic. Not that it was bleak before that, but when you’re in a boot you just never know,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after the Heat returned to practice in Miami. “He’s already chomping at the bit and trying to negotiate the time, but we’ll do what’s hopefully smartest.”
Herro went down with a right foot injury in the Heat’s blowout win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 3 and traveled west with his team before being sent back to Miami on Feb. 11 for further testing. He didn’t play in any of the Heat’s final five games going into the All-Star break and won’t play Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against the Atlanta Hawks.
“There’s no timeline and I don’t want him talking about a timeline,” Spoelstra said. “He’ll come up with something crazy like this weekend or something.”
Leonard also went down with an injury against the 76ers, and he didn’t travel west with his team. Last Wednesday, Spoelstra said there is no timetable for the post player to return from a left ankle sprain, and there was no update on his status Wednesday.
Heat still revels in All-Star success
Spoelstra’s All-Star Weekend routine was a little different this year than it has been in the past.
“It was one of the few times I’ve ever actually watched basically the whole deal,” the coach said, “and it was great theater, great drama.”
He had good reason to: Miami (35-19) had participants in all five events spanning across three nights in Chicago. On Friday, rookie guard Kendrick Nunn took the floor at the United Center for the Rising Stars Challenge and Herro was there, too, only sidelined because of his injury. On Saturday, All-Star post player Bam Adebayo won the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge, sharpshooting swingman Duncan Robinson competed in the Three-Point Contest and Derrick Jones Jr. won the Slam Dunk Contest.
The Heat wrapped up the weekend Sunday with Adebayo and Jimmy Butler playing in the NBA All-Star Game, giving Miami two participants in the game for the first time since 2015.
In all, the weekend was a massive success for one of the league’s biggest first-half surprises.
“I loved it,” Spoelstra said. “It was really cool to see us represented in the right way. It was a lot of fun.”
Jones and Nunn were two of the biggest winners of the weekend, earning endorsement deals from Puma at the end of the weekend. Butler joked Jones wouldn’t even talk to him Wednesday when the team reconvened in South Florida because the high-flying forward became such a big star in Illinois.
In actuality, he hopes some of his younger teammates who went to All-Star Weekend for the first time — like Adebayo, Nunn, Herro, Robinson and Jones — realize why the weekend was such a Heat-centric affair. If they want to keep landing invitations, it’ll take sustained success.
“For them, for the organization as a whole I think it was great,” the All-Star wing said. “Those guys understand that they’re in their position because we won. We have to continue to do that and more fame, more success — all of that stuff — it comes with it, but I’m so happy for them.”
Dwyane Wade weekend on horizon
The next time Miami hosts a game at the AAA, the Heat will spend halftime celebrating the legacy of the greatest player in franchise history.
Miami will retire Dwyane Wade’s jersey Saturday at halftime of a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the ceremony is only part of another busy weekend for the Heat. On Friday, Miami kicks off the weekend with “The Flashback,” which “will honor Wade’s impact on NBA basketball, the Miami Heat and the South Florida community,” the team said in a release. On Sunday, Miami wraps up the weekend by premiering “D. Wade: Life Unexpected,” a documentary about the former superstar guard.
