Heat’s Tyler Herro expected to return for Game 7 of East finals vs. Celtics
The Miami Heat is expected to have its entire roster available for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Guard Tyler Herro, who was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the year this season, is on track to return for Sunday’s series-deciding game after missing the previous three games with a strained left groin. The winner of Game 7 between the Heat and Boston Celtics will move on to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Herro, 22, was listed as questionable on the injury report before the Heat announced that he’ll warm up with the intention of playing on Sunday about two hours before tipoff on Sunday.
“Right now it’s all hands on deck,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the team’s decision to clear Herro for Game 7. “He passed his testing with the trainers. He’s really been working diligently the last few days. Each day he’s made significant improvement, and he was able to do shootaround this morning but more importantly he was able to do things in the training room and pass those tests to be available.”
Herro averaged an inefficient 12.3 points on 39 percent shooting from the field on 1-of-14 (7.1 percent) shooting from three-point range in three East finals games before missing Games 4, 5 and 6. But he was one of the Heat’s top offensive weapons in the regular season, averaging 20.7 points on a team-high 17 shots per game, and his three-level scoring ability will help against the Celtics’ elite defense.
The rest of the players on the Heat’s injury report — Kyle Lowry (left hamstring strain), Max Strus (right hamstring strain), P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) and Gabe Vincent (left hamstring strain) — are also expected to be available to play in Game 7 despite being listed as questionable.
The Celtics will also have their full rotation available on Sunday. Starters Marcus Smart (right ankle sprain) and Robert Williams (left knee soreness), who were both listed as questionable, will play.
Celtics forward Sam Hauser (right shoulder instability), who has logged just four minutes of playing time this postseason, remains out.
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 6:47 PM.
