The team that has played with the NBA’s fastest pace this season is about to get its leading scorer from a year ago back for the first time this season.
Tyler Herro, who underwent ankle surgery on Sept. 19 and has missed the Miami Heat’s first 17 games, is expected to make his season debut, barring any setbacks, Monday at home against the Dallas Mavericks, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
Herro, the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and an All-Star last season, averaged 23.9 points and 5.5 assists per game in 2024-25, both team highs and career highs.
He’ll have a chance to improve on those numbers this season once he regains his rhythm, because the Heat are playing a different brand of basketball now.
The 2024-25 Heat ranked 27th in the NBA in pace, at 97.08 possessions per game.
This season, Miami ranks first in pace — yes, first — at 106.41 possessions per game.
Fueled by that change, Erik Spoelstra’s squad has exceeded expectations, at 11-6, with a four-game winning streak.
Norman Powell has been the key figure in Miami’s surprising start. Dealt last offseason from the LA Clippers to Miami in a three-team trade, Powell leads Miami in scoring, averaging 25.4 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 46 percent shooting from deep.
Now, Herro will join Powell and center Bam Adebayo, giving the Heat more firepower.
The Heat already leads the NBA in scoring, with 124.9 points per game. If they continue their torrid output, they would set a new franchise record. Herro should help. Last season, along with his career-best scoring average, he sported personal highs in games played and started (77), field goal percentage (47.1), true shooting percentage (60.5), assists per game (5.5), made 3s (251, second-most in a season in team history) and PER (19.7). Herro also recorded three 40-point games last season after doing so only once in his first five NBA seasons (284 appearances). Miami’s offensive efficiency improved by 8.6 points per 100 possessions during Herro’s 2,725 minutes on the court last season.
ESPN was the first news outlet to report Herro’s imminent return.