Based on some of the discourse in recent weeks, if you didn’t know better you’d think calamity was about to consume the Miami Heat.

After all, how will Tyler Herro’s imminent return from September ankle surgery impact what has a rejuvenating return to competitiveness by Erik Spoelstra’s team?

Um … by making a good team better?

Yes, adjustments will have to be made, certainly in the lineup, arguably in the rotation, perhaps even in the playing style.

But All-Stars make teams better. That’s NBA 101.

Granted, on teams that already are loaded, bursting at the seams with star talent, adding or injecting into the mix can be a delicate process. Such were the assessments that had to be made by the Heat with the additions of Shane Battier, Ray Allen, even Chris “Birdman” Andersen during the Big Three era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

This Heat mix is not that Heat mix, but rather a roster in need of more to even consider competing at such levels.

Enter Herro, who could be back as soon as Monday night’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks, or perhaps later during the impending four-game homestand.

He will make this Heat roster better.

And better is good.

As for any concerns, that’s where the coaching staff and the front office step in to alleviate so Herro can elevate.

The offensive mix: At the moment, the Heat arguably have a singular go-to perimeter scorer, with all due respect to the contributions of Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and others.

Each from that group can provide a basket when needed.

Norman Powell provides baskets, plural, as he did in his 17-point fourth quarter with the game in the balance Wednesday night against Golden State Warriors.

But that also can be a grueling challenge over the course of an 82-game season, or at least what is left of it.

Enter Herro, who soon will leave defenses with pick-your-poison decisions when it comes to double teams and defensive overloads at such late-game moments of truth.

With Powell and Herro both elite spacers and shooters, there is little reason to believe that Powell-Herro won’t thrive in such moments.

The defensive dilemma: Neither Herro nor Powell are known for their defensive chops. So the concerns are legitimate.

But such concerns also can be mitigated with a lineup rounded out with defenders, such as Wiggins, Adebayo and Kel’el Ware. In such a lineup, it would be as basic as Herro taking the assignment of the lesser of the opposing scorers and Powell the next least-efficient opposing scorer.

Yes, such an approach could have Mitchell out of the initial mix, but that also is only the initial mix.

At closing time, should defense stand as the priority, the Heat still can choose from the defensive chops of Adebayo, Ware, Wiggins, Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and Dru Smith.

It is a roster that can compensate for both Herro and Powell at defensive moments of truth.

The ego element: Among the reasons things got so ugly so quickly last season with Jimmy Butler, was that Bam Adebayo was granted a maximum extension at the moment that window opened, while Butler was put on hold. Eventually, joy was lost.

While that could become a storyline should the Heat choose to extend Powell during his ongoing extension window, while not extending Herro in a window that closed Oct. 20, the same type of ego does not appear at play here.

Powell has been effusive about how Herro will make the team better, with Herro having gushed about how Powell has kept the team afloat.

With positive results, both could wind up paid, neither seemingly petty enough to let timing get in the way.

The big picture: With the NBA trading deadline not until Feb. 5, the Heat will have more than two months to test drive the Powell-Herro dynamic.

Come February, it is possible if the Heat do choose to move on from one of the two, it could be a factor more of the remainder of the roster.

In other words, whether Powell-Herro works or not, a greater priority than dual wing scorers could be shoring up a power rotation that has had its wobbly moments.

Ironically, that could, in an obtuse way, put the 2025-26 future of the Powell-Herro pairing in the hands of Nikola Jovic, and whether he can stand as a needed third wheel in the power mix.

For now, there is only one reality with a Herro return: it will make the Heat better.

IN THE LANE

MATTER OF PERCEPTION: In discussing Jonathan Kuminga‘s inability to gain a foothold with the Golden State Warriors in the wake of ugly offseason free-agency negotiations, Jimmy Butler seemingly attempted to draw upon his Heat past. In an interview with ESPN, Butler said, “Can you just imagine being in a place where – like, I get it — are you wanted here or not? That’s the worst feeling, man. Can you imagine it? I had to deal with it at the later part in Miami. It’s like, ‘Damn, I’ve been here. What are we talking about?’” Butler added, “I think I just got to stay on him, though. Let him know that I am in your corner. We all are in your corner. Just breathe. Breathe. We’re not out to get you.” Um, yeah, no. The only thing the Heat told Butler was that they wanted to wait on an extension on a player who would turn 37 during that extension. Oh, and the Heat also told Butler that the offense would need to shift in the direction of Tyler Herro, based on reliability. But not wanted? Until it got out of hand, the possibility of an extension remained in place.

MATTER OF PERCEPTION, TOO: Butler, of course, then sat out Wednesday night’s game at Kaseya Center, as part of Steve Kerr‘s night of rest for his roster. A week earlier, when Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson took the same approach at Kaseya Center, by holding out Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley for rest, the Cavaliers were fined $100,000 by the NBA. And, yes, Atkinson said he would do it again, with a home game the following night against the Toronto Raptors. “I think my number-one job is to continue to protect the health of our players,” Atkinson said passionately, according to Cleveland.com. “So kind of that simple. I think that Miami game, we came home at 3:30 in the morning, so you have to anticipate sometimes too, what the schedule looks like. We have those discussions, we make decisions. I’ll rock with that decision.” The Cavaliers went on to win that game in Miami. “So, to me, you throw that on top of it and it’s like, wait a second, are you discrediting the guys that played that night? Is that a weird way to look at it?” Atkinson said.

NOT SO FAST: When the Utah Jazz acquired Kevin Love from the Heat in the three-team deal that delivered Norman Powell from the Clippers to the Heat, the thought was that a buyout would ensue, with Love merely a ledger-balancing element of the deal. But Jazz coach Will Hardy said even before Jazz center  Walker Kessler was lost for the season with a shoulder injury that a role was envisioned for Love. “When I spoke to Kevin before camp,” Hardy said, “it was to make sure he knew the value that I saw in him, and that I saw a real role for him with our group. At the time, Walker was healthy. So you have to have the  conversation, like, ‘Hey, I don’t know what the minutes are going to look like, but I can promise you a role.’ ” At 37, Hardy said he has plenty to learn from Love, 37. “We need veteran leadership in our locker room, and he has been where all our guys want to go,” Hardy said. “Kevin has played for a lot of great coaches. He’s been in a lot of big moments. So I bounce things off of him in big moments, as well.”

A BIG FAN: Sometimes rivalry has to give way to reality. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he has found himself in such a position with Jalen Brunson. Asked about the New York Knicks guard amid the Heat’s two-game set against New York, Spoelstra prefaced his comments with a smile. “What I can say about Jalen is I really enjoyed my time working with him during the World Cup,” said Spoelstra, who was a Team USA assistant at that 2023 event in the Philippines. “And I’ve mentioned it to him and I’ve mentioned it to other people, I just really dislike myself, and I can’t look at myself in the mirror, for how much I grew to like him.” Spoelstra added with another smile, “I told him that my sons are Jalen Brunson fans, but I told them it’s not allowed in my household.”

SPEAKING OF: Speaking of Spoelstra and his sons, the timing of the Heat schedule allowed for a career-day appearance Thursday before the team left for the current two-game trip. “It was a lot of fun,” Spoelstra said. “I can’t believe it actually worked out with the schedule, where we were in town, where we had the morning off because we were flying out. But it was a nice surprise to be able to do that. I was able to speak to three classrooms, so that was fun. I think my boys enjoyed it. (Youngest son) Dante got to miss part of his class to be able to watch the presentation for his older brother’s class, so I think he liked that.”

NUMBER

8-0. Norman Powell‘s record in the last eight games he has played against the Golden State Warriors, including Wednesday night’s 110-96 Heat victory at Kaseya Center.