Tyler Herro’s status in question because of COVID-19 protocols. And latest on Heat injuries
The Miami Heat is again facing uncertainty because of the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Heat guard Tyler Herro is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports Sun) due to protocols. Herro was not with the team for practice Sunday.
During his media session following Saturday’s win over the Sacramento Kings, Herro said that he learned at halftime that a person he lives with tested positive for COVID-19, and he was unsure whether he would be forced to quarantine by the NBA and miss games.
“It’s crazy. We all know how crazy this time is going,” Herro said Saturday night. “Someone who lives with me tested positive before the game and I found out at halftime. I don’t know. Hopefully I don’t have to quarantine. It’s just crazy what’s going on.”
Herro, 21, finished Saturday’s victory with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes. He recorded 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, two rebounds and one assist in 22 second-half minutes.
Herro is currently the only Heat player whose status is in question because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which is an indication that any potential contact tracing investigation did not find another player on the roster to be a possible close contact.
One point of reference for Herro’s situation from earlier this season: After exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was forced to quarantine for seven days and miss three games. Durant, who tested positive for COVID-19 last spring, did not test positive for the virus following that latest exposure but the seven-day quarantine was mandatory because he was deemed a close contact.
Herro also previously tested positive for COVID-19 last year prior to the resumption of the 2019-20 season in the Walt Disney World quarantine bubble.
But whether a player has tested positive in the past or not, those who are determined to be close contacts are expected to be sidelined for seven days in most cases. Players who test positive for the virus likely have to miss at least about two weeks.
Herro is listed as questionable because of health and safety protocols, which only means the reason is related to COVID-19 and does not suggest that he tested positive.
The Heat has already been one of the teams most impacted by the NBA’s health and safety protocols, playing two games (Jan. 12 and Jan. 14 losses to the Philadelphia 76ers) with the NBA minimum of eight available players because of COVID-19 issues.
Already in Miami’s first 19 games of the season, health and safety protocols have forced Jimmy Butler to miss 10 straight games; Avery Bradley to miss eight straight games, and Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Moe Harkless, Udonis Haslem, Kendrick Nunn and KZ Okpala to miss two straight games. Bradley disclosed that he tested positive for COVID-19 in January.
Butler just returned from his 10-game absence in Saturday’s win over the Kings. He finished with 30 points while shooting 8-of-19 from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line, seven rebounds and eight assists in his first game since Jan. 9.
In addition, the Heat’s Jan. 10 matchup against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden was postponed because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Miami did not have the NBA minimum of eight available players to proceed with the game due to an ongoing contact tracing investigation.
The Heat’s Jan. 18 game against the Detroit Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena, which was originally scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., was moved to 8 p.m because of the league’s health and safety protocols. Both teams had enough available players to meet the NBA minimum of eight to play a game, but the switch was made to allow for more time for COVID-19 testing to be processed prior to the contest.
“By any means necessary right now,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Sunday’s practice. “We’ve been through so much, I think everybody knows and is able to adapt to this. This is what’s required right now.”
The Heat also faced an issue stemming from the league’s health and safety protocols in Saturday’s victory: Nunn didn’t play because the Heat was still waiting on his test result when the game began, and he was not cleared to play until the second quarter.
“We were waiting for his test results,” Spoelstra said Saturday of Nunn. “At that point, he wasn’t available in the first quarter so I went a different direction and then just didn’t go back to him. It’s just one of those unfortunate things. I guess if those type of things are going to happen, it’ll happen to us. We’ll test it out first and find a way to make it work.”
As a result of this lack of roster continuity, the Heat has used a league-leading 14 different starting lineups in 19 games this season. Miami has used a different starting group in each of its past six games.
“We’re living with the punches right now,” Adebayo said following Sunday’s practice. “When we get fully healthy, we’re going to be alright. I feel like going through that is going to be better for us along the road just because we’ve had so many people in and out, changing the starting lineup 14 times, maneuvering people around.
“It’s going to get to a point where everybody, I feel like, is going to be cohesive and comfortable and able to adapt around each other’s play style even though nobody wants to have people sitting out during COVID. But this is the way of life right now. This is the way we got to handle it. We got to always think next man up.”
▪ In addition to the uncertainty regarding Herro’s status, the Heat has already ruled out Harkless (left thigh contusion), Meyers Leonard (left shoulder strain) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) for Monday’s matchup against the Hornets.
Bradley (right knee contusion) and Dragic (left groin strain) are questionable.
“I know how badly those guys want to be out there,” Spoelstra said of Bradley and Dragic. “They’re both trying to be out there the last two games. We want to move forward with our full complement of guys. If they’re not available, we’ll adjust.”
Andre Iguodala (neck spasms) and Gabe Vincent (right knee soreness) are probable.
▪ The Hornets’ injury report for Monday’s game lists guard Terry Rozier as questionable because of a sprained right ankle he sustained in Saturday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rozier is averaging 18.6 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 percent shooting on threes, four rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals this season.
This story was originally published January 31, 2021 at 5:44 PM.
