Injured Heat guard Tyler Herro continues to make progress. Where things stand
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was cleared to resume non-contact basketball work on Tuesday after breaking his right hand in the opening game of the team’s playoff run.
Herro underwent surgery on his right hand, his shooting hand, on April 21. At that time, the Heat announced Herro would miss a minimum of six weeks.
This upcoming Friday will mark five weeks and June 2 will mark six weeks since the surgery. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 1.
“He is starting the process,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday when asked about Herro. “... He does have the brace off and he’s able to do ball handling and some shooting.”
The Heat entered Tuesday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics and just one win away from punching its ticket to the NBA Finals. The Denver Nuggets already clinched their spot in the NBA Finals by completing the 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals on Monday night.
While a return by Herro this postseason hasn’t been ruled out should the Heat advance to the NBA Finals, it’s not considered likely by those close to the situation. There’s still no definitive timetable for his return.
Herro suffered the injury while diving for a loose ball in the final minute of the first half of Game 1 of the Heat’s first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 16. Herro initially wore a cast on his hand after the surgery before recently having the cast replaced by a brace.
Herro closed the regular season as the Heat’s third-leading scorer with 20.1 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent shooting on threes. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler were the only Heat players who averaged more points than Herro.
Herro’s four-year, $130 million extension that he signed with the Heat in October begins next season.
With Herro out, the Heat has used a starting lineup of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Butler, Kevin Love and Adebayo for most of the postseason. The Heat entered Tuesday’s Game 4 with an impressive 11-3 record during this year’s playoffs.
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 12:49 PM.
