When he’s not hitting threes and serving up assists for the Miami Heat, Tyler Herro can be seen serving fries and drinks to patrons of the Raising Canes. Tyler likes to keep himself busy, huh? This season, Herro’s form for the Miami Heat has been magnificent. He’s easily the best player on their roster right now.
And the Heat will look to capitalize on his form even more now that we’re entering the final stages of the regular season. The Toronto Raptors are next on the docket. But will Tyler Herro be there to help Miami against them? Let’s find out.
Miami Heat Injury Report – will Tyler Herro play against the Toronto Raptors?
Even though Tyler Herro is on a mission to fulfill as many side quests as he can in his downtime, the ultimate goal remains the same: bring the NBA title back to Miami. Sadly, his availability against the Toronto Raptors seems to be un-sure.
The Miami Heat’s injury report lists Tyler as PROBABLE for their next game. Herro is experiencing soreness in his right shoulder ahead of this upcoming game. Perhaps working a shift at Raising Cane’s wasn’t the best idea. That said, there’s still a chance the winner of this year’s NBA All-Star three-point contest plays against Toronto. The Heat are considering his availability from day to day.
Dec 1, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji (30) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
The same cannot be said for his teammates, Kevin Love and Dru Smith. They’re both listed as OUT for the Raptors game. Love is out for personal reasons, whereas Smith continues to recuperate from the surgery on his left Achilles.
G-League players Keshad Johnson, Isaiah Stevens, and Josh Christopher will also miss the Toronto Raptors game. Christopher and Stevens are on two-way contracts which mandate playing in the G-League while Johnson is on assignment with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Their opponents, the Raptors, will also miss a few key players for the upcoming game. Foremost of whom is the mercurial new signee, Brandon Ingram. A sprain in his left ankle keeps him from making his Raptors debut. And it gets worse Raptors fans, because there’s no clear timeline for his return. Yikes. Alongside Ingram, Jakob Poeltl and PJ Tucker are also OUT of the Heat game. Poeltl injured his left hip while Tucker is simply listed as “Not with Team”.
G-League players AJ Lawson and Ulrich Chomche round out the Raptors’ injury report. They both have G-League duties to fulfill owing to their two-way contracts. Given we know the absentees on both teams, let’s see what kind of lineups they field against each other in the game.
Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors – predicted starting lineups and depth chart
The Miami Heat would love to have Tyler Herro among their ranks to take on the Toronto Raptors. However, they still have plenty of rotation options to count on if Herro can’t regain fitness in time. Thank God that stomach bug didn’t stick around past the All-Star break! That said, here’s how they may lineup against the Raptors if Herro can play:
POSITION
STARTER
2nd UNIT
3rd UNIT
PG
Tyler Herro(DD)
Davion Mitchell
Terry Rozier
SG
Duncan Robinson
Terry Rozier
Alec Burks
SF
Andrew Wiggins
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Haywood Highsmith
PF
Bam Adebayo
Nikola Jovic
Kyle Anderson
C
Kel’El Ware
Bam Adebayo
Nikola Jovic
Considering the fact that Brandon Ingram hasn’t even made his debut for the Raptors yet, they probably won’t miss him too much. Jakob Poeltl is a different story, though. They will miss his physicality and dominance over the backboard against the Heat. The gap between him and his understudy Jonathan Mogbo is quite pronounced. Even so, the Raptors will hope he can step up in Poeltl’s absence. Here’s how the Raptors will probably line up in the absence of their star big:
POSITION
STARTER
2nd UNIT
3rd UNIT
PG
Immanuel Quickley
Jamal Shead
Scottie Barnes
SG
Gradey Dick
RJ Barrett
Ja’Kobe Walter
SF
RJ Barrett
Ja’Kobe Walter
Jamison Battle
PF
Scottie Barnes
Ochai Agbaji
Chris Boucher
C
Jonathan Mogbo
Orlando Robinson
Chris Boucher
The Heat are barely clinging on to a spot in the play-in tournament with the Atlanta Hawks hot on their heels. They’ll try to snap their 4-game skid against the Raptors, but achieving that won’t be easy. 12 out of the Raptors’ 17 victories this season have come when they were the home side. So clearly, it’ll be a tough ask to defeat them at home. Miami players will need to turn up the heat in Toronto if they want to lock in their postseason future!
The post Will Tyler Herro Play Tonight? Reviewing Heat Injury Report Ahead of Raptors Game appeared first on EssentiallySports.
