MIAMI – As Miami Heat star Tyler Herro returned from a rib injury in a 128-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday after missing 15 straight games, the team was the healthiest it has been, arguably, all season. As the Heat look to maximize their full roster to their potential with 25 games left in the season ahead of Saturday's showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies, head coach Erik Spoelstra talks depth.
It has been a recurring trend that Miami's injury report would be full of issues, with Herro at the forefront as he has missed 45 of the 57 games played so far. But after a much-needed All-Star break, the team dominated with a healthy roster, possibly displaying winning ways from the beginning of the season.
Despite the myriad of injuries, Spoelstra has touted the team's depth, and even though it's only one game, he said Friday's win had a different feeling.
“I have a lot of positive feelings about our team and our depth, we've used it all season,” Spoelstra told ClutchPoints before Saturday's game. "We've used it when guys have been out, and last night was an example of that when we had our full roster, you could feel the depth. You could feel the level of talent, you know, that we have on the roster. It's just one game, but we have to keep building and stacking up. I have no problem with our guys feeling great about the game after the break, and now we have another one that's behind us. And we want to build some continuity."
Erik Spoelstra was asked if last night was a glimpse of how he envisioned the team going into the season because it was the healthiest he has ever played.
"You can feel the level of talent that we have on our roster, it's just one game, but we have to keep developing..." #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/4SKbWumWJs
- Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) 21 February 2026
Tyler Herro puts the spotlight on the Heat's "legitimate" strength
With the return of the Heat's star in Herro, it has given the team a chance to see which rotations work and which don't, although there is still work to be done. Especially when it comes to Herro and Norman Powell, and when Herro came off the bench in his first game, the two only played three minutes together.
Still, others, such as Kel'El Ware, Kaspars Jaksionis, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Pelle Larsson, and others benefited from a healthy roster. Spoelstra even talked about how Miami has "legit depth" after the win.
“We have legitimate depth, we've been talking about it all year,” Spoelstra said after Friday's win over the Hawks. "But when you have players out, the depth is used to fill players out and fill some gaps. But when we have everyone available, we look a lot different. It's a game, but it's something we've felt about our team for a while. We have our guys available right now."
There's no doubt that helps someone like captain Bam Adebayo, who was carrying more weight than usual due to the uncertainty over who would or would not be available.
"You love a team that has that much depth," Adebayo said after recording 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Atlanta. "Because now you have different guys that can step up at any time. And throughout the rest of the season and going into the playoffs, you're going to need that."
Although Davion Mitchell and Nikola Jovic are out for Saturday, the team's health is headed in the right direction.
At any rate, Miami looks to win out as the team is 30-27, eighth in the Eastern Conference, before Saturday's home game against the Grizzlies.
