The Miami Heat played their first NBA preseason game on Tuesday, but fans were forced to wait longer before seeing Tyler Herro on the floor.

Herro, along with sophomore forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., was dealing with a groin injury, which forced him to miss the game. The former Sixth Man of the Year revealed Friday when he intends to debut.

“Not frustrating or annoying at all,” Herro said of the injury. “Feel pretty good, just excited to be back and playing. Nothing happened. I was just pretty sore after training camp ran a lot, and I was sore, so I needed a couple days. Yeah, I should be [good to go Sunday]. We’ll see what happens.”

The Heat are facing off against the New Orleans Pelicans in Herro’s anticipated debut. The 24-year-old appeared in just 42 games last year, a number that the coaching staff hopes skyrockets in the upcoming season. If Herro and Jimmy Butler can both remain healthy, expect the Heat to make considerable noise in the much improved Eastern Conference.

Herro was later asked about the importance of the ‘core four’ (Butler, Herro, Bam Adebayo, and Terry Rozier) getting reps together, where he made clear it’s about building chemistry with each player on the roster.

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.