Tyler Herro out with bruised quadriceps, as Heat down to 10 available players vs. 76ers
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The short-handed Miami Heat is without its top three scorers.
Along with continuing to play without Bam Adebayo (thumb surgery) and Jimmy Butler (tail bone contusion), the Heat also ruled out sixth man Tyler Herro for Wednesday night’s road game against the Philadelphia 76ers because of a right quadriceps contusion he sustained during Monday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Herro, 21, did not participate in the team’s morning shootaround session in Philadelphia but will remain with the Heat on the trip that continues Friday against the Orlando Magic.
“He’s not being sent home,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro following shootaround Wednesday morning. “But he’s sore.”
Herro took a knee to his quad during the first half of Monday’s game in Cleveland, but managed to play through the injury to finish the game with 12 points on 6-of-15 shooting, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes. He rode an exercise bike in the tunnel to the locker room to stay warm during his breaks in action to prevent the injury from the tightening up, allowing him to finish the game.
But Herro’s quad has since become sore because of the contusion.
“Anybody that has an injury during a game, sometimes they can finish and you never can really make an evaluation until how they feel the next day,” Spoelstra said. “Then often times, it’s two days later how does somebody feel and how is the body responding. We’ll just continue to evaluate him day to day.”
With Caleb Martin (health and safety protocols), Markieff Morris (whiplash) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) also out, the Heat is down to just 10 available players.
Two-way contract guard Marcus Garrett, who has split time during his rookie season between the Heat and it’s G League affiliate, is ready to step into the Heat’s rotation with a handful of rotation players out.
“He definitely brings a defensive disposition and he can really extend full court and apply pressure,” Spoelstra said of Garrett. “He’s really unique. If you’re an opponent trying to enter offense through him, he can be really disruptive. I just want him to be who he is. He doesn’t have to like jump out and try to score 35 or 40. It will be situational minutes. We need those minutes and he can be an X factor in those kind of minutes.”
Garrett, who has been battling right wrist tendinitis in recent weeks, has averaged 12.8 points on 40.4 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 percent shooting on threes, 8.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals in eight games for the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce this season.
Garrett arrived to the Heat as an accomplished defensive force on the college level, as he was named the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and finished as a finalist for the award last season. At 6-5 and 205 pounds, his wingspan has been measured at 6-10.
“Just being disruptive defensively,” said Garrett, who signed with the Heat as an undrafted free agent this past offseason. “That’s picking up 94 feet, guarding the other team’s best player. Whatever coach asks me to do.”
LOWRY HOMECOMING
Heat guard Kyle Lowry is in his 16th NBA season, but returning to his hometown of Philadelphia is still among his favorite stops during the schedule.
“Always special,” Lowry said ahead of Wednesday’s game against the 76ers. “It’s home. It’s home. I’ll enjoy home. I still got to work. But it’s always special to go home and play in front of those fans. Whether they’re booing me or not, they love me, they hate me. I’ve done some great things for my city. The one thing about it is I go home. Going home is always special no matter what it is, what the situation is, where you are, what time. You get to go home and play an NBA game in your hometown. It’s special.”
Wednesday marks Lowry’s first game in Philadelphia in nearly a year since Dec. 29, 2020.
HEAT’S TRADE OPTIONS GROW
The Heat’s list of trade options just grew much longer. That’s because most of the free agents singed this past offseason became eligible to be traded starting on Wednesday.
With the Heat signing 11 players in August, Wednesday was a big day despite no trade considered imminent for Miami.
Heat players like Lowry, P.J. Tucker, Morris, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven became trade eligible on Wednesday. Players like Dewayne Dedmon, Oladipo and Udonis Haslem also become eligible to be dealt Wednesday, but they have the right to veto any trade because of their contract situation.
The NBA’s trade deadline this season is set for Feb. 10.
▪ On Wednesday afternoon, the 76ers announced that Georges Niang won’t play against the Heat because he has entered the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. He’s currently the only 76ers player in protocols.
