Erik Spoelstra is clear about the Heat’s ‘legitimate’ X-factor

MIAMI – Ace Miami Heat star Tyler Herro is back from a rib injury in Friday’s 128-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks, after missing 15 straight games earlier, the team was at its healthiest yet, possibly all season. With The Heat want to maximize their full roster to his potential with 25 games left in the season before Saturday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, the head coach Erik Spoelstra it speaks of depth.

It’s been a recurring trend for Miami’s injury reports to be filled with problems, with Hero at the fore as he has missed 45 of 57 games played so far. But after the much-needed All-Star break, the team dominated with a healthy roster, possibly showing a winning streak since the start of the season.

Even with the myriad of injuries, Spoelstra praised the team’s depth, and even though it’s only one game, he said Friday’s win had a different feel.

“I have a lot of positive feelings about our team and our depth, we’ve used that all season,” Spoelstra told ClutchPoints before Saturday’s game. “We used it when guys were out, and last night was an example when we had a full roster, you could feel the depth. You could feel the level of talent, you know, that we have on the roster. It’s only one game, but we have to build and build. I don’t have a problem with our guys feeling great in a game coming out of the break, and now we have another one that’s behind us and we want to build another one that’s consistent.”

He asked Erik Spoelstra if last night was a glimpse of how he envisions the team entering the season at its healthiest yet.

“You can feel the level of talent we have on the roster, it’s only one game in, but we have to build…” #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/4SKbVumVJs

— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) February 21, 2026

Tyler Hero titled the Heat’s “legitimate” strength

With The heat star returns to Herro, it gave the team a chance to see which rotations were working and which weren’t, although there is still work to be done. Especially when it comes to Herro i Norman Powelland with the former coming off the bench in his first game, the two played just three minutes together.

Still, others such as Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Yakutsionis, Jaime Yakuz Jr., Pelle Larsson, and others benefited from a healthy roster. Even after the win, Spoelstra said Miami had “legitimate depth.”

“We have legitimate depth, we’ve talked about it all year,” Spoelstra said after Friday’s win over the Hawks. “But when you have guys out, the depth is used to step in and fill some gaps when guys are out. But when we have everyone available, we look a lot different. It’s one game, but this is something we’ve felt about our team for a while. We just have our guys available right now.”

No doubt it helps someone like captain Bam Adebayo, who has had more weight than usual with the uncertainty of who will be available or not.

“You love a team that has that much depth,” Adebayo said after posting 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Atlanta. “Because now you have different people who can step up at any time. And for the rest of the season and going into the playoffs, you need that.”

Although Davion Mitchell and Nikola Jovic are out for Saturdaythe health of the team seems to be heading in the right direction.

Either way, Miami looks to be on a winning streak as the team is 30-27, eighth in the Eastern Conference, heading into Saturday’s home game against the Grizzlies.