Not a single game has been played in the 2025–26 NBA season and yet the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets have already been dealt adversity with injuries to key players—Tyler Herro for the Heat and Fred VanVleet for the Rockets.
What Happened to Tyler Herro and What Does It Mean for Miami?
Tyler Herro Last Season: 23.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.9 SPG
Tyler Herro, now unquestionably the Heat’s main man, underwent left ankle surgery in a procedure meant “to alleviate posterior impingement syndrome,” according to the team. Herro first experienced discomfort in said ankle early this offseason and had received platelet-rich plasma and cortisone injections for it. But the problem persisted and required surgery. He is expected to miss eight weeks.
Herro’s injury is a major blow to Miami if its goal this season is to make the playoffs. Given the eight-week timetable, Herro’s earliest potential return could be mid-November—making it highly likely that he’ll miss the Heat’s first 14 games or at least most of them. Without their top scorer and chief playmaker, it’s entirely possible that Miami gets off to a rocky start next season, especially if Andrew Wiggins (assuming he doesn’t get traded) and recent acquisition Norm Powell can’t replicate Herro’s offensive production and playmaking.
A bad start could be disastrous for a team that went 37-45 last season and got booted out at the play-in. This could then force Pat Riley’s hand and force him to make big changes in-season.
What Happened to Fred VanVleet and What Does It Mean for Houston?
Fred VanVleet Last Season: 14.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.6 SPG
Just recently, Fred VanVleet suffered a torn ACL during an offseason workout, which means he’ll likely miss the entirety of the 2025–26 NBA season.
This, too, is a blow to the Rockets’ upcoming campaign as VanVleet is the team’s starting point guard and is as solid as they come. The one-time champion with the Toronto Raptors excels on both ends and also brings stability and leadership to a young Houston core. All that will be gone, and the bad news for the Rockets is they don’t have someone who could take VanVleet’s spot for long stretches.
Aaron Holiday was solid last season but played only 17 minutes a game. Reed Sheppard, an incoming sophomore, is explosive and dynamic but is more of a combo guard than an orchestrator in the mold of a VanVleet. The Rockets could gamble on a free agent like Russell Westbrook, although that’ll have substantial salary cap implications as Houston is already hard-capped at the first tax apron.
Coach Ime Udoka could also let Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson take over most of the ballhandling duties, though doing that will push them away from what they do best: finish plays. Needless to say, losing Fred VanVleet reconfigures the Rockets completely and might even peg them a notch lower than clear-cut title favorites.
