MIAMI — Guard Tyler Herro and coach Erik Spoelstra on Friday both addressed the noise about Herro’s return somehow standing as causation for the Miami Heat’s recent slide, with losses in five of the team’s last six games.

Neither view it as distraction.

“Nothing new. It is what it is,” Herro said, with the Heat 3-3 in his appearances since returning from September ankle surgery. “I feel like real basketball heads know what’s going on.”

Among the outside speculation has been Herro as an ill fit for Spoelstra’s new fast-paced system, with Herro early in his return mentioning how a few more pick-and-roll sets could ease his re-acclimation.

“I mean, whatever the coaches think is best for our offense, that’s what I listen to. That’s what I do,” he said following Friday’s practice at Kaseya Center, amid his team’s five-day break.

Since his season debut, Herro had missed two additional games due to a toe issue before returning in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup loss to the Orlando Magic.

So, Herro said, still a work in progress.

“Still working towards it, for sure,” he said. “I’ve still got some pain in my body, but I just want to be out here.”

Among outside concerns had been Herro finding chemistry with offseason acquisition Norman Powell, who had taken the lead in the Heat’s offense amid Herro’s absence.

To that end, Powell playfully injected himself into Herro’s Friday interview scrum.

“They say we’re supposed to be feuding,” Powell jokingly asked. “You have a feud between me, man?”

Herro responded by asking his questioners for their definition of “feuding.”

“Why would we be feuding?” Herro said with a smile.

Replied Powell, “I don’t know why we’re feuding. That’s news to me. That’s my dog right there.”

To Spoelstra, all part of the NBA social-media cycle.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s just a total overreaction,” Spoelstra said. “It’s misguided. We need Tyler. And it will be a little bit of a process, working him back into the mix. But to get where we need to go, we need Tyler’s skill and talent, and need our guys healthy. And that’s what we’re working on right now.

“We can be very dangerous when we get guys on the same page, committing to our identity and Tyler is a big part of that.”

So, no, no concern about putting too many pieces into play.

“I just like us having a full group to work through this,” Spoelstra said of the current four-game losing streak. “Tyler has elite offensive skill talent that we need. What we want, we need all of our guys playing at a high level. And the more weapons you can have, the better.”

Working back

Pelle Larsson was the lone player not to practice Friday, two days after an MRI showed a sprained left ankle that is expected to sideline the second-year guard one to two weeks. The injury was sustained in the first half of Tuesday night’s loss in Orlando.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I think, thankfully, it wasn’t like a very forceful play. I was just kind of stepping backward and accidents happen, so twisted my ankle a little bit. But I feel good, recovering pretty quick and doing a great job together with the trainers right now to keep me in shape and also strengthen my ankle.”

All things considered, Larsson said he was relieved by the diagnosis.

“The first thing I think is always kind of fear that sets in, like you work so hard and spend so many hours to become better and stuff and then something like this that you can’t control happens,” he said. “It’s more frustration than anything.

“And then, the pain, it was kind of immediate, but the next day I already felt a lot better.”

Larsson said he is taking his timetable as day-by-day.

The way the schedule sets up, with this lengthy current break, a two-week absence could have Larsson out as few as four games.

“It sucks to watch from the locker room and on the TV and from the bench, non-dressed,” he said. “So definitely a nice little break for everyone.”