Herro again out with knee issue, Butler questionable vs. Mavericks. And Heat adds to roster
The Miami Heat will be without sixth man extraordinaire Tyler Herro for the third time in four games on Tuesday.
After returning from a two-game absence to play in Saturday’s win over the Brooklyn Nets, Herro is again listed as out for Tuesday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) because of a right knee contusion. Before playing Saturday, he missed the previous two games because of right knee soreness.
An MRI on Herro’s injured knee revealed only a contusion and no structural damage.
Herro, who is the NBA’s leading bench scorer, finished Saturday’s win with 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 shooting from the foul line, seven rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes. He’s averaging a team-high 9.6 fourth-quarter minutes per game this season, but he played just 2:56 in the fourth quarter against the Nets.
“He gives you that offensive punch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro following Saturday’s victory. “He’ll get in better rhythm, particularly on the defensive end. But it was great to see him back out there and moving around where you didn’t notice any kind of lingering effect from his injury.”
The Heat listed Jimmy Butler (right shoulder strain) and Caleb Martin (left Achilles soreness) as questionable for Tuesday’s game. Butler logged 34 minutes on Saturday, but Martin has missed two straight games and three of the past five games because of his Achilles injury.
Along with Herro’s absence, the Heat will also be without Markieff Morris (return to competition reconditioning) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery) against the Mavericks. Morris has not played since Nov. 8 because of lingering effects from Nikola Jokic’s shove that caused whiplash and there remains uncertainty surrounding his status for the rest of the season, and Oladipo is still working toward his season debut as he rehabilitates from May surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee.
With the Heat lacking depth at forward because of Morris’ absence and KZ Okpala’s departure, the team will sign developmental forward Haywood Highsmith (6-4, 220) to a 10-day contract, according to a league source. Highsmith, 25, is a familiar face, as he previously signed a 10-day deal with the Heat on Dec. 30 as a COVID-19 replacement.
During his first stint with the Heat, Highsmith totaled 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting on threes and five rebounds in 42 minutes over four games. He has averaged 13.6 points while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three-point range, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and one block in 17 games with the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats this season.
Last week’s trade that sent Okpala to the Oklahoma City Thunder left the Heat with 13 players signed to standard contracts, two fewer than the league-maximum of 15 players. NBA teams can only carry 13 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks before rules force a 14th to be added, and the addition of Highsmith brings the Heat’s roster back up to 14 players.
The signing of Highsmith is expected to become official on Tuesday.
The Mavericks have ruled out Marquese Chriss (right knee soreness), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) and Theo Pinson (right finger fracture) for Tuesday’s game in Miami. Trey Burke (left shoulder sprain) is questionable.
Just two games stand between the Heat and the All-Star break. Miami hosts Dallas on Tuesday and then travels to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday before entering the break and resuming its schedule on Feb. 25 against the New York Knicks.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 5:42 PM.
