Tyler Herro's season still hasn't gotten started

It's easier to handle the known.

Before the season began, everyone related to the Miami Heat -- from coaches to players to fans -- knew that Tyler Herro would miss time. And he did, about what was expected or maybe a little less, following offseason ankle surgery. He returned after 17 games, with the Heat standing at 11-6. Th concern then was not Herro needing to save the Heat, but rather needing to disrupt them.

Some said he did, even though he produced high-efficiency shooting statistics and the Heat went 3-3 in games he played, with the pace stalling somewhat but not dramatically.. But then, without Herro getting much rhythm with Norman Powell, who started to suffer his own minor injuries, Herro was sidelined with a toe issue. He has not played since Dec. 9.

The Heat are 1-4 since, with their only win against the Brooklyn Nets.

Herro has played six of 30 games in all, in a season that was being used to see if he could be reliable and dynamic enough to warrant a lengthy and lucrative contract extension.

So far, not so good.

Asked Erik Spoelstra about the progress Tyler Herro, Pelle Larsson, and Nikola Jovic are making, says he’s “very encouraged by the progress.” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/JPJYpkXeot
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 23, 2025

The Heat are off until Dec. 26, when they will face Play-in rival Atlanta. It is not clear if Herro will be back then, or anytime soon. And this is becoming more problematic. It was one thing when the Heat could come out of training camp with a more egalitarian offense, knowing that their 2024-25 leading scorer would not be available for a while.

But then, after trying to incorporate him, there's been this uncertainty about when he will play, due to this second injury. And it feels like one of the many factors that has stopped the Heat in their tracks. The offense is struggling badly now, with the shots not regularly falling, and the Heat could use not only Herro's spacing from deep but also his in-between game. They're missing his floaters for sure.

All of this also leads to long-term uncertainty. Herro's name has been in trade rumors, as usual, but beyond that there's the matter of the looming extension decisions on Powell and Herro, with Powell's coming first. How can the Heat make an educated choice on whether to extend one or both, when they've played together fewer than 100 minutes?

Or maybe this lost season for Herro is making their decision for them.

Either way, the sooner back, the better. For everyone.