Whether it’s as a starter or reserve, Heat’s Tyler Herro just happy to be back from injury

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was prepared for the question about his role. He knew it was coming after returning from a 20-game absence to play off the bench for the first time in nearly two years.

“Look, there are six games left,” Herro said Friday night after playing in his first game since Feb. 23. “I just missed 20 games. It’s hard to just implement me into the starting lineup at this point.”

In other words, Herro understands the situation he’s returning to after missing 20 straight games because of right foot medial tendinitis. He’s returning with just five games left on the Heat’s regular-season schedule following Friday’s 119-104 road win over the Houston Rockets.

In his first game back on Friday, Herro contributed a quality stat line of 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, 1-of-4 shooting from three-point range and 2-of-4 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes off the bench to help lift the Heat (43-34) to a road win over the Rockets to begin a three-game trip. He also closed with a positive plus/minus of plus 11.

Herro, who started in his first 36 appearances this season prior to the foot injury, played off the bench on Friday for the first time since the 2021-22 season when he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. He started 103 straight regular-season games before playing as a reserve on Friday.

Herro has made it clear multiple times that he views himself as an NBA starter and that hasn’t changed. But he also understands that he’s returning to a team jockeying for playoff positioning and working to avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament with just one week left in the regular season.

“Whatever Spo decides to do is ultimately up to him,” Herro said, with the Heat continuing its trip on Sunday in a high-stakes matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (5 p.m., Bally Sports Sun). “It’s not an easy decision. Obviously, everybody knows I’m a starter in the league. But like I said, to come back with six games left, it’s tough to just implement me into the lineup like that. But ultimately, I’m going to get starter minutes and that’s all that matters. I’m a starter, but I’ll come off the bench for now.”

While playing as a reserve, Herro also played as a closer in his return on Friday.

Herro, 24, entered off the bench with 3:01 left in the third quarter and remained on the court until there was 1:28 left in the fourth quarter when Miami had already wrapped up the win. The Heat stretched its lead from 11 to 16 points during that time.

Herro recorded 11 points, four rebounds and two assists during this second-half stretch.

“That fourth quarter took a long time,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I wasn’t planning on playing him that whole fourth quarter, but there were timeouts, technicals, free throws, all of that. So I think he was able to manage it. The big thing will be how he feels tomorrow. Physically, all indicators are that he should be able to handle that load.”

The different aspects of Herro’s offensive skill set that will help the Heat, which enters Saturday with the NBA’s 21st-ranked offensive rating, were on display in his first game back. There were smooth pull-up jumpers, driving layups, floaters, pull-up threes in transition and assists out of pick-and-rolls.

While Herro is known for his outside shooting, he was able to generate nine shots in the paint to score 12 paint points on Friday.

Herro is averaging career-highs in points (20.7 per game) and assists (4.4 per game) while shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 39.7 percent on eight three-point attempts per game this season.

“It’s just great to have him back,” Spoelstra continued. “His head coach didn’t forget what he brings to the table. That skill level, the creativity, the speed, the quickness, all that stuff is what we need.”

Herro worked hard to make himself available before the end of the season to help fill those needs for the Heat. But there were setbacks along the way that kept delaying his return.

Eventually, Herro received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat his injured foot on March 15 and that helped speed up the recovery process.

“I took a week off when we got back from the West Coast trip [in February] hoping that that was going to be enough for me to come back and it wasn’t,” Herro said. “I ramped up and then ultimately that’s what made us decide to get the PRP shot because the rest wasn’t cutting it. So the PRP shot was kind of bringing it some extra reinforcement to kind of hopefully release some pressure on the tendon. I was able to do that with some weeks of rest after the PRP shot. Ultimately, that’s what got me back on the floor.”

Now, Herro hopes to stay on the floor for a potential playoff run after essentially missing the Heat’s entire playoff run to the NBA Finals last season with a broken right hand.

Whether it’s off the bench or as a starter, Herro just wants to be on the court in important moments helping the Heat after injuries robbed him of so many of those experiences over the last year.

“Whatever minutes I can get out there, to be able to help this team win,” Herro said. “I can contribute in five minutes, in 35 minutes. I just need to be on the court.”