Miami Heat might get guard help back, but not Tyler Herro

This time last year, Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat were about to celebrate the guard's first All-Star bid.

Right about now, there will be a celebration if he's ever able to play a couple straight regular season games.

Herro, who missed the Heat's road trip in which the team went 3-2, will miss the first game home, as well, Wednesday against the Orlando Magic. This will be Herro's 37th missed game of the season. He has played in only 11. Earlier absences were due to ankle surgery recovery and a nagging toe injury; this latest setback is due to a rib cage problem.

This lack of availability has led to a flurry of questions, about how the Heat will handle Herro's situation prior to the Feb. 5 trade deadline. They had already tabled any talk of an extension of Herro's contract beyond next season; certainly this hasn't made them more amenable to the numbers Herro may have been seeking. But at the same time, it's tough to assess Herro's value as a trade chip when he's hardly on the court. It's also difficult to determine how he and Norman Powell fit, and whom the Heat should pay and how much, when they've hardly paired.

Powell and Davion Mitchell have played a quite bit more than Herro, and while both are listed as questionable for Wednesday's game -- while Herro is officially out -- and Mitchell didn't practice Tuesday, don't be surprised to see the two of them starting.

If so, that means rookie Kasparas Jakucionis goes back to the bench after accruing 25 assists against just six turnovers and playing sound defense in a 5-3 stretch in which he's gotten some run. Will he play at all? Hard to say, though Erik Spoelstra could pair him with Dru Smith as reserves as the coach has done in prior games. Pelle Larsson probably remains a starter with Andrew Wiggins at forward, unless Spoelstra starts Kel'el Ware to try to match Orlando's size. The Heat are 0-3 against the Magic this season, including a loss in an NBA Cup quarterfinal that Herro participated in, before going out again for several games.

These are the adjustments Spoelstra has had to make all season, with Herro missing the first 17 games, not looking rusty offensively upon his return, but then disrupting any chance for rhythm with the two subsequent injury-related departures.

At some point, the Heat will need some certainty, and that's part of what makes this trade deadline so compelling.