Inside The Heat

Tyler Herro still saying "sooner" for his return

Ethan J. Skolnick|
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Miami Heat

There have been some hints that the Miami Heat's leading scorer could return from ankle surgery a bit earlier than the original timelines, either those provided by the team or himself.

Heat fans got excited earlier this week when an Atlanta Hawks broadcaster "reported" that he had spoken to some inside the Heat organization who said Herro could be back for the season opener Oct. 22 in Orlando, which would be about three weeks ahead of the most optimistic projections.

Then they saw Herro's social media from his trip back home to Milwaukee to watch the Brewers, his favorite baseball team, in the National League Championship Series. Herro seemed to be walking without a limp.

Then, Wednesday, Herro spoke with Jason Jackson (and to the fans) at the Red, White and Pink annual scrimmage to benefit cancer research. He said something he said at his Media Day press conference: "Sooner than later." But in light of the other observations, it seemed to mean a little more.

While the Heat tend to handle injuries conservatively, and won't rush their All-Star back, it would be ideal if Herro could get back into the lineup and back to form before too long. While the Heat will lean on Norman Powell to score from the backcourt for now, the squad's overall three-point shooting has been dismal in the first five preseason games, all losses.

Herro can provide a boost there, and in playmaking. He played a career high 77 games last season after Pat Riley called him "fragile." Typically, he steps up when challenged, and it appears he has challenged himself to cut this absence as short as possible.

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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