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Heat’s Lottery Pick Provides Own Injury Update

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Quenton Albertie | Last updated 3/27/24

Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro may return sooner than anticipated.

Herro has been sidelined since Feb. 23, initially leaving the matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans after hyperextending his knee. A week later, Herro began to feel the discomfort of a medial tendinitis flare-up in his right foot. The fifth-year pro received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Mar. 15 to speed up his recovery process. After the procedure, he had a three-week timeline; “ a week off, followed by a two-week ramp up,” per the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.

Tyler Herro Claps Back at Erroneous Injury Report

On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania made his usual appearance on Run It Back, saying “there’s no real sense” of when Herro will return.

“Duncan Robinson, there’s optimism he’s going to be back at least in the next week or so…The big worry is Tyler Herro, he has not played in a while, there’s no real sense when he’ll be back.”@ShamsCharania updates on injuries for the #Heat

: https://t.co/oxMs3CA6QW pic.twitter.com/2TrHiKtTNy

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 27, 2024

However, Herro refused to confirm the report by Charania. In a sarcastic reply to his injury report, the 24-year-old writes “I just had a great workout, but I ain’t coming back no time soon.” Herro had “a vigorous workout Wednesday while the rest of the team was off,” per Winderman.

I just had a great workout , but I ain’t coming back no time soon

— Tyler Herro (@raf_tyler) March 27, 2024

The Heat are 20-16 without Herro this season and 57-46 without Herro since he was drafted.

Taken 13th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, it’s almost hard to believe that Herro has already been in the league for five seasons. However, that may be because Herro’s missed at least 15 games in every season he’s been drafted. Indeed, he’s missed 103 games combined since the 2019-20 season.

Whether or not that’s the case, the Heat know how to win without Herro. More to the point, they know they have to win without Herro. They’re just not winning nearly as often.

Miami is 163-115 with the Kentucky product since the 2019-20 season, averaging 109.9 points per game and shooting 36.4 percent from 3 with him in the rotation. Without Herro, they’re only a bit less productive offensively, averaging 109.4 points per game and shooting 35.5 percent from 3. Yet, they’re a team that’s already middling in terms of firepower. As a result, their margin for error is thinner.

To that point, Herro is among their best deep threats and a capable shot-creator. The 2022 Sixth Man of the Year, Herro’s averaged 18.1 points and made 38.5 percent of his 3s since being drafted. He’s averaging 20.8 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting from 3.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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