Q: Ira, do you think the Heat will ask Tyler Herro to play a few G League games to get into game shape? It seems unlikely that he can play at the pace the Heat are currently using since he didn’t have any game action this season. Supposedly LeBron James might play a bit in the G League to get his body ready for NBA games, since he is in the same situation. – Rich, Plantation.
A: No, LeBron isn’t, and Tyler isn’t. What teams that have G League affiliates in the same city do is send players from the NBA roster to G League practice sessions for conditioning, since NBA practice is limited during the regular season. With LeBron James, that means basically practicing with the G League roster at the Lakers’ practice facility. With the Heat’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls, S.D., it’s not quite the same thing. But Erik Spoelstra will craft workouts with fringe players and staffers to get Tyler up to speed. As you note with the pace, it will be interesting to see if Tyler comes back initially as a starter.
Q: Ira, didn’t the Heat owe it to Victor Oladipo to claim him in the G League after he was injured here? – Dan.
A: No more so than the Heat owed it to Victor Oladipo not to trade him, as they did, to offload his salary once he was sidelined. It’s. A. Business. Similarly, part of the equation is balancing development in the G League and weighing the value of a call-up to your NBA roster. With the Heat already loaded on the wing, it’s not as if there necessarily would have been an Oladipo call-up if Oladipo went off in the G League.
Q: Can’t wait till our fanbase wakes up and realizes the roster is just mid. – Cole.
A: With that wakeup call either impending, or a change of your opinion to be in order, with the next four games featuring a pair of matchups against the Cavaliers, and then a pair against the Knicks. Get through those four with quality results, and then we should be able to favorably adjudicate.