MIAMI — Nothing passive aggressive this time. Not amid the winning. Not with what’s working.
So Tyler Herro off the bench? Off to a good start, as the Miami Heat reformulate amid health and hope.
Back for two games after missing a month with a rib injury, Herro has transitioned into a reserve role that has boosted Erik Spoelstra’s bench without compromising the rotation.
“I’m coming off the bench right now and it doesn’t really feel like I’m out of place,” Herro said, “because we got guys that can start and I’m comfortable in my role and in myself.
“So I’m happy where I’m at.”
Such was not necessarily the case when Herro returned from a toe injury last month off the bench, or when reshuffled to a reserve role after previous absences.
But having appeared in only 11 games before this return, there is an appreciation for what already has been in place, of the momentum that now is the team’s first three-game winning streak of the calendar year and the push to escape the play-in zone of the standings.
So, no, no drama.
“Right now we’re just trying to get him out there,” Spoelstra said of Herro’s return in the back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies. “We are going to manage the minutes. I’m not overthinking it. I’m not putting anything in cement. I don’t have a timeline for anything.
“We’re how many ever games into the season right now and we finally have our full roster. We’re just going to try to maximize these next 25 games as much as possible and we just want everybody just to pour into the team, pour into the role, don’t overthink things at this point.”
For Herro it meant 23:19 in Friday night’s return in Atlanta, when he closed with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and then 22:55 in Saturday night’s home victory over the Grizzlies, when he finished with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
While returning amid a back-to-back set might not have been optimal, Herro said there was an energy to the experience that allowed him to push through.
“I missed, obviously, a lot of time and a lot of time I was just sitting and relaxing and letting my rib heal,” he said. “You know, so it just feels good to be out here again. I woke up (Saturday) morning like it was the first day of school again, to be able to play another game. So like I’m just excited to be back out here.”
While the Hawks-Grizzlies set was the Heat’s 14th of their league-high 17 back-to-back sets this season, it was just Herro’s second run through such a pairing.
With Davion Mitchell missing Saturday due to illness, it afforded Spoelstra the opportunity to insert Herro back into the starting mix. Instead, Spoelstra gave rookie Kasparas Jakucionis his ninth start, with the Heat now having altered their starting lineups in each of their past 10 games.
After a pair of false starts this season with Herro returns, having missed the start of the season following September ankle surgery, the approach has been pragmatic, with a longer view in mind.
“Obviously, it’s been a unique season for him,” Spoelstra said. “We know how competitive he is. We know how much he wants to be out there. But those are the things you can’t control.
“But we have never forgotten about the talent that he brings. He changes our dynamic quite a bit.”
For now, that change is as a reserve.
But it doesn’t mean another change is not in the offing.
“I just want to get out here and play with the whole team, get comfortable, and just stack some healthy games together,” Herro said. “Just try to play a stretch of games where I’m healthy. That’s all that’s on my mind.”