MIAMI — With this coming Wednesday marking four weeks since Tyler Herro went down with his Grade 2 ankle sprain, it is hard not to notice how much has transpired for the Miami Heat in the interim. The injury came during what would grow into a seven-game winning streak and stretch of nine victories in 10 games. But during the absence there also were blown 21-point leads in losses to the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, games in which the non-Herro offense ground to a halt. All the while, quality depth was defined, from the mature-beyond-his-years impact of Jaime Jaquez Jr. to the unexpected impact of Haywood Highsmith as starting power forward, from Josh Richardson rekindling memories of his former self, to Duncan Robinson stepping in and thriving as starter, from Caleb Martin making strides from offseason knee pain, to Kevin Love re-emerging in reserve, and all the while Kyle Lowry seemingly turning back the clock. With all of that coming in support of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
“Everybody knows about Tyler,” Martin said after the first of the week’s two games against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center. “He’s going to come in and be Tyler. He’s been so big for us the last couple years I’ve been here, and I’m excited to get him back in the mix, too, just to add to the depth and get him back rolling. “We’re going to be in good shape.” But, this also is not the same team that Herro was ripped away from with that Nov. 8 misstep in Memphis. Martin wasn’t a factor at the time. Richardson had yet to hit his stride. Jaquez until that night in Memphis had yet to score more than 11 in an NBA game. There still were questions about Robinson sustaining. The Heat to that point had won only twice this season with Highsmith as a starter.
So it will be different when the return comes, yet another moment to be managed by Erik Spoelstra. Appreciate that to Spoelstra talk of health and depth and wealth of riches is likely to be met with the firmest of scowls. He knows how quickly injuries can turn boom times into busts. Already, there has been plenty of that this season (witness just a week ago in Brooklyn, with Butler, Adebayo, Robinson and Herro all sidelined in that loss). He’ll never have enough, even as he talks during the lean times of having enough. With Butler and Adebayo, when they return from time missed, they return as featured components, as Butler showed with his 36 points on Thursday night against Indiana after missing two games with an ankle sprain, as Adebayo showed with his 31 Tuesday against Milwaukee after his problematic hip had him out the prior game.
Herro, even after playing at an All-Star level to start the season, hasn’t quite reached that status. It won’t be as simple as moving Robinson back to the bench, after seeing how much his spacing has opened the offense. It isn’t as basic as casting Lowry as the reserve he was in last season’s playoff run to the NBA Finals, not with the settling factor he has provided with his playmaking presence, high-percentage shooting and willingness to defer.
And moving Highsmith out of the opening unit works only if Butler agrees to be cast at power forward, which assuredly would create backlash. So the simple answer, at least the initial answer, would be to bring Herro back off the bench, preach patience, note how the lineups in recent years have been fluid until fully defined in the playoffs. Herro, Jaquez, Martin, Richardson and anything resembling a big man, perhaps Love, would make for a spicy second unit, create a 10-deep of versatility on both ends. “We got a lot of guys we can turn to and that’s the scary thing about it,” Martin said. “We just got a lot of talented dudes who are ready whenever their name is going to be called.” But also appreciate that Herro during his absence has spoken of a goal of All-NBA. The last time Herro made a desire known, he got the starting role he coveted. Reserves aren’t named All-NBA. Spoelstra has navigated such waters before while keeping the Heat afloat. Now he’s about to have rich-people problems, left to sort out wealth in a way that continues to provide a payoff.
