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MIAMI – Tyler Herro was cleared on Friday (Saturday Manila time) to resume basketball activities with the Miami Heat after missing a game while dealing with the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols.
The second-year guard was singled out after a test result Thursday, then acquitted after returning subsequent negative tests. Herro was not allowed to play in Miami’s win over Houston on Thursday night while the matter was resolved. He was then able to join the team for their flight to Salt Lake City after the game.
Heat, the reigning champion of the Eastern Conference, winner of four in a row, the best of the season, will play Utah on Saturday night. The Jazz entered Friday with the best record in the NBA; they were going to play Milwaukee at home on Friday night.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he learned Herro would not be available for Thursday’s game “17 seconds before I spoke to the team” before the game. Max Strus made the most of what would have been Herro’s minutes, scoring 21 points, a career high, and helping Miami beat the Rockets 101-94.
Herro was tested again on Friday morning, as part of the player’s usual routine this season. The Heat announced a few hours later that they would no longer deal with protocols.
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Miami has had 10 of its 17 players lost at least one game this season for virus-related reasons. Jimmy Butler missed a total of 10 games, Avery Bradley missed eight games and later revealed he tested positive for COVID-19, Kendrick Nunn missed a game because a test result was delayed, and Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Moe Harkless, Udonis Haslem, KZ Okpala, and now Herro have been lost for various protocol-related reasons.
“It’s the norm now,” Butler said after Thursday’s win. “Guys missing games, obviously not a good thing … We know what we are capable of. We know what we have to do.”
Injuries have also been a problem, part of the reason Miami has used 16 starting lineups in 25 games. Dragic and Bradley, both rotation players, are not with the Heat on their seven-game road trip right now due to injuries. Dragic has a sprained ankle and Bradley has a sprained calf.
“Look, we’ve been dealing with this for five weeks,” Spoelstra said. “Everybody’s got this twisted about this team, saying there’s a lack of whatever it is. Whatever the narrative, the stupid narrative that’s out there, we have incredible mental toughness and stability in that locker room and as a staff because we’ve he’s been dealing with it. We don’t make any excuses for it. This has been going on for five weeks. The guys have been able to stay focused on the task at hand. “
Herro, who missed seven games earlier this season with neck spasms, has averaged 17 points in his 17 games this season.
