Tyler Hero and Norman Powell headline injury reports ahead of Magic matchup

With The Miami Heat had a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 on Wednesday night, the team looks to bounce back on Friday against the Orlando Magic, despite sporting injuries to key stars. As Herro in the Heat’s loss to the Mavericks was something left to be desiredhis presence is in the injury report along with Norman Powell on the eve of the conflict in the country.

While Hero has played in five games since making his season debut with offseason ankle and foot surgery, he is listed as “suspicious” for the “right toe irritation” contest. As for Powell, who missed Wednesday’s loss to Dallas, he still has a sprained right ankle, also with Hero questionable.

The two are Miami’s leading scorers on the team, with Powell averaging 25 points per game in 17 contests while Hero averaged 23.8 points in five games played. Although that backcourt duo could be explosive, Hero continues to build chemistry with the team under a new offensive philosophy.

“We have a strong team,” Herro said after the Dallas loss, via the Miami Herald. “So it’s not just Norm. I’m playing with a bunch of great guys, great players on his team. It’s been great for me, and I’m just getting back into the swing of things. And I’m just looking forward to continuing to build chemistry.”

Warmth Tyler Herro still working to get back to 100 percent

While it is The Heat is one of the best teams in the leaguethere’s no denying that there’s been an adjustment in bringing back key players like Herro from injury, especially since he’s still looking to get back to the All-Star level he was last season before surgery. Herro would echo the same sentiment, saying that while he feels good, it’s a “long process” to get back to 100 percent.

“I feel good,” Herro said. “I just have to keep going day by day, like I said. It’s a long process to get my foot back to where it was before the surgery.”

Herro also looks to bounce back from a rather frustrating game against the Mavericks, scoring 20 points in the first half but going scoreless in the second, missing all five of his attempts.

His usage rate dropped in the second half, and he and others expressed that the ball needs to find him more, but that will come naturally as everyone fully understands the system, with the head coach Erik Spoelstra “encouraged” by the early returns.

“I’m really encouraged by how (Herro) has been able to fit in and really help us by hitting his strengths,” Spoelstra said. “We can be so dynamic offensively with everyone healthy and reading the game appropriately. You need that against the best teams.”

Either way, it remains to be seen whether Hero or Powell will miss more time as Miami looks to get back into the win column Friday against Orlando.