ORLANDO — Five games after returning from September ankle surgery, Heat guard Tyler Herro now is sidelined with a toe irritation, scheduled for an MRI on Saturday in Miami.
“I know about as much as y’all, just day by day right now,” Herro said as teammates completed their morning shootaround at Kia Center ahead of Friday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. “We’re not really so sure what happened. I got a little soreness in my big toe.”
Herro said he was injured in the first half of Wednesday night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the start of this two-game trip, a game he went scoreless in the second half after scoring 20 in the first half.
“Obviously, I got kicked in like the first quarter the other night in the back of my calf,” he said. “And then from there, I woke up and my big toe is hurt.”
This latest setback comes after Herro’s season debut was delayed until Nov. 24 by Sept. 19 surgery on his left ankle.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate,” he said, “but it is what it is.”
With Friday marking the 18th game Herro has missed this season, he no longer is eligible for postseason awards, which require at least 65 appearances, and therefore is no longer eligible for a larger contract extension based on receiving All-NBA status.
“I was already disappointed to start the season,” he said of his belated season debut, “so this doesn’t really change much.”
Heat guard Tyler Herro has his injured toe wrapped at Friday’s shootaround in Orlando. (Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel).
Coach Erik Spoelstra said he would wait for the MRI to consider the rotation implications.
“Let’s just find out what it is, and then we’ll put together a plan,” Spoelstra said. “Right now, he’ll be day-to-day. Obviously we’ll get a scan tomorrow.
“I remember the exact play it happened, on that and-one, where there was a little bit of a collision there. But we’ll move forward.”
Spoelstra’s rotation was bolstered Friday with guard Norman Powell cleared to return after missing Wednesday night’s loss in Dallas with an ankle sprain.
Center Bam Adebayo said he feels for Herro.
“I pray for him, man, ’cause I know it’s tough on the mental, obviously you fight your way throughout the summer and then you have surgery and then you come back and it’s like another injury,” the Heat captain said. “So I know it’s tough on the mental.
“But we’re all family. We’re all here to be by his side and be with him as he gets healthy again.”
Adebayo missed six games and two weeks in November with a sprain of the same toe as Herro.
“Listen,” Adebayo said of those minimizing toe injuries, “you don’t realize how gratifying it is to have a functional toe until it’s not functional and you’ve got to actually walk around, push.
“People don’t think like, you got to push off screens. We got to run, jump. So it plays a big part in our sport.”
Off to races
As if the Heat’s weekend schedule isn’t compact enough, with Friday night’s game against the Magic and Saturday night’s home game against the Sacramento Kings, Spoelstra and his staff with be up early Sunday for his second annual Coach Spo’s 5K benefiting Nicklaus Children’s and the Miami Heat Charitable Fund.
“It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. Obviously it’s something dear to my heart,” Spoelstra said, with his oldest son treated for cancer at Nicklaus and since in remission. “And the Children’s Hospital there at Nicklaus is an amazing place. It’s where miracles can happen. The staff are incredible. So I wanted to do something to be able to give back that to them. A hundred percent of the proceeds go to the hospital and go to the kids’ care. And it’s a fun morning.
“There was amazing energy last year and there’ll be more runners this year now that it’s gotten out there more word of mouth. So I think the turnout will be terrific and I think everybody understands we’ll have a great time and it’ll be for a really inspirational cause.”
The 7:30 a.m. event begins and ends at Nicklaus Children’s, located at 3100 SW 62nd Avenue in Miami, with entry details still open and available at https://runsignup.com/Race/FL/Miami/CoachSpo5K