By James Jackson, Joe Vardon and Rebecca Tauber
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro will be sidelined to start the upcoming season because of foot surgery, a team source told The Athletic.
The 25-year-old is coming off a season in which he was named an All-Star for the first time, averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 assists and 3.3 3-pointers per game, all career highs. He is eligible to sign a contract extension next month.
Before his injury, this upcoming season marked the first in which Herro is entering as Miami’s unquestioned No. 1 scoring option, given last season’s months-long drama with current Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler, who was traded after contract negotiations with the Heat fell through.
By the end of last season, Herro led Miami with a career-high 5,533 touches on offense, 555 more than second-place Bam Adebayo, who finished with a career-best 4,978, per NBA.com. Unlike several other seasons and the start of this one, the biggest component to Herro’s success in 2024-25 was his durability, as evidenced by him playing in a career-high 77 games last season, which marked the first time he didn’t log double-digit absences over his first six campaigns in the NBA.
During Herro’s 2,725 regular-season minutes on the court, he was the difference for an offense that would’ve ranked last in offensive efficiency without him (105.3 points per 100 possessions in such scenarios), signaling a swing of plus-8.6 (mark of 113.9 with him on the court).
How will Miami cope without Herro on the court?
The answer, in large part, begins and ends with Adebayo taking on a greater workload. The three-time NBA All-Star and arguably the league’s most versatile defender — who owns five straight All-Defensive selections before that streak ended at last season’s end — has shown he can handle it over his first eight seasons.
In Adebayo’s first 50 games of the 2024-25 campaign, he was on pace for a career-low in shooting percentage (46.8) and shot just 28.5 percent on 3s while averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks.
Over his last 28 outings? He upped his scoring to 20.8 points per contest while posting 8.9 rebounds, four dimes, 1.3 steals and shooting 51.2 percent from the field, including a mark of 46.2 percent from deep. From Feb. 12 to the end of the regular season, Adebayo’s 583 points trailed Herro (677) for the team lead, but they were also 371 more than the next-closest Heat player over that span (Andrew Wiggins, 312). — James Jackson, staff editor
The Norman Powell factor
Along with relying on Adebayo to carry the scoring load, the Heat will look to newly acquired guard Norman Powell to aid their punch on offense. Powell was brought in via an offseason trade with the LA Clippers, with whom he spent three-plus seasons. Like Herro, he had the highest-scoring season of his career in 2024-25 (21.8 points per game), during which he started a career-high 60 games and received chatter as a potential first-time All-Star selection.
By bringing in Powell, the Heat were already trying to upgrade an offense that ranked only 21st among all teams last season. But they’ll be more reliant on Powell’s combination of scoring savvy, playmaking acumen and downhill driving ability to keep opponents honest while Herro heals. Over his final two seasons with the Clippers, Powell shot 42.6 percent from deep on six attempts per game.
Another area where Powell can help Miami — with and without Herro, frankly — is in late-game situations, where the Heat struggled throughout much of last season. In their 17th season under head coach and three-time NBA champion Erik Spoelstra, the Heat had a league-high 28 losses in games where the score was within five points over its final five minutes.
Although Herro led Miami with 96 points in such situations, he shot only 30.8 percent in them, including just 19 percent on 3s, per NBA.com. Powell, on the other hand, finished with 76 clutch-time points to trail only James Harden (94) for the team lead, shooting 53.8 percent when the game was close late. — Jackson
That type of veteran leadership will be key for Miami as Herro heals and once he returns to the lineup. The Heat, who made the playoffs with a 37-45 record last season, made a postseason run but needed a third consecutive trip through the NBA’s Play-In Tournament to clinch a playoff berth. Once more, upon Miami securing its first-round bid against the then-top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18), the team was outscored by 122 points en route to the largest playoff series loss in league history, a four-game sweep capped by a 55-point loss in Game 4, the fourth-worst playoff loss for any NBA team ever. — Jackson
Who else can step up?
To weather the storm through Herro’s injury, the Heat will rely on more than Adebayo, Powell and Wiggins. Guard Davion Mitchell signed a two-year, $24 million contract over the offseason after Miami brought him in from the Toronto Raptors in February. His playmaking, long-range shooting and reputation as a defensive specialist should mesh well in Miami, where, after his team debut on Feb. 10, he ranked third among all Heat players in touches per game (61.4) and first in passes per outing (49.7), total dimes (160) and assist opportunities (279).
Nikola Jović, 22, had an impressive showing at EuroBasket this summer, and second-year center Kel’el Ware had 15 double-doubles last season, the third-most ever among Heat rookies. Third-year forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. posted a career-high 41 points in last season’s regular-season finale after a mostly slow sophomore campaign. These youngsters will be key pieces to Spoelstra and Co. enduring Herro’s absence.
Miami still hopes to manage a strong start in what could be a pretty lackluster Eastern Conference, given that defending conference champion Indiana Pacers and 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics lost their star players, Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum, respectively, to Achilles ruptures during the 2025 postseason.
Miami’s preseason begins on Oct. 4 in Puerto Rico with a matchup against the Southeast Division rival Orlando Magic. The Heat open their regular season on Oct. 22 with a road visit to Orlando, before playing the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 24. Miami will host its home opener on Oct. 26 against the New York Knicks. The Heat were 0-5 in all the outings Herro missed last season. — Jackson
(Photo: David Richard / Imagn Images)