Miami Heat head coach suggests Tyler Herro's neck injury worsened because of NBA rules

ZGeogheganKSR

Tyler-Herro — <small>(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)<small>

(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2020-21 NBA season has been anything but ordinary thus far, and now the reality of the situation is becoming clear for some franchises.

Miami Heat second-year guard Tyler Herro was the surprise star of the Orlando bubble as a rookie and had high expectations coming into the new season. Through 10 games this year–all as a starter–Herro has averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He’d been doing this playing mostly out of position and without his superstar teammates, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. However, Herro’s sat out the previous three contests for Miami due to neck spasms and could be out even longer.

Tyler Herro (neck) again out for Heat, also to miss next two in Brooklyn. https://t.co/bUzSb82iBW Jimmy Butler, Avery Bradley yet to resume court activity. pic.twitter.com/fj0Nb0E8N5

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 22, 2021

Earlier this season on Jan. 12, the Heat was forced to run with just eight players in a matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Miami organization. As a result, Herro, who had already been bearing a large bulk of the backcourt minutes, was now playing 30-plus minutes on a regular basis on a roster where there were moments when he was the best player in a Heat uniform. Miami lost both games they played against Philly with just eight men availabe.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra believes that Herro’s additional workload played a role in his current neck injury. Had he not played, the Heat would not have had the required number of players and would have been forced to forfeit.

“There’s no telling for sure if this is why Tyler missed these games,” Spoelstra said on Thursday, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “But it definitely didn’t help that he had to play and play that many minutes. We didn’t have anybody else at that point. If he didn’t play, then we would have had seven.”

Herro has reportedly been sent home and won’t play later on Friday against the Toronto Raptors. He’s also expected to miss this Saturday and Monday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets.

“In hindsight,” Spoelstra added, “based on what you’re seeing, we probably just would have not allowed him to play, and we’d have been forced into a postponement.”

Herro practiced for the first time in over a week on Thursday, per Winderman, but woke up on Friday morning sorer than usual.

According to team, Herro woke up sore today after practicing Thursday for first time in a week. https://t.co/WNOIN5YoUe

— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 22, 2021

The NBA is actively working on changing its protocols, but Herro has already faced the harsh reality of what playing basketball during a pandemic can bring.