Heat’s Tyler Herro available for Game 5 of Finals vs. Nuggets after missing two months
Tyler Herro was injured on the first day of the Miami Heat’s playoff run and the Heat’s hope is his return doesn’t come on the final day of its playoff run.
Herro, who has been out since breaking his right hand in the opening game of the Heat’s playoff run on April 16, will be available and in uniform for Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Monday night. The Heat is facing elimination, down 3-1 to the Nuggets in the best-of-7 championship series.
But whether Herro plays in his first game in nearly two months remains to be seen. Coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat will begin Game 5 with its usual rotation.
“He has done everything he needed to do,” Spoelstra said of Herro prior to Game 5. “We appreciate all the work that he has put in. It’s been a long, whatever, six, seven weeks of this. He is putting himself out there, available.
“It’s all hands on deck. We are going with our initial start, normal rotation, and we’ll see how the game plays out. We have no idea how this game is going to play out, but it’s great to have everybody available.”
Spoelstra said “there’s no guarantees” when asked whether Herro’s return will affect the Heat’s rotation.
“Obviously, these are unusual circumstances,” Spoelstra added. “I’m just going to read the game. He is going to be available. I’m not going to disrupt everything initially. It’s not realistic for him to step into the role that he was doing before.”
Herro, 23, 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 past Friday marked seven weeks since the surgery.
“To be honest, doesn’t change anything,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said during his pregame media session on Monday when asked how Herro’s return changes things. “If they throw him out there, they throw him out there. But our approach is the same, our game plan is the same, and our energy, discipline and communication have to be the same.”
Herro sustained 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. Herro initially wore a cast on his hand after the surgery before having it replaced by a brace, and he was cleared to resume noncontact basketball activities about three weeks ago and full-contact basketball activities at the start of the NBA Finals about two weeks ago.
Herro, a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup, 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.
While Herro is back, the Heat remains without guard Victor Oladipo, who tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in the first round of the playoffs.
This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 12:56 PM.
