Heat lists Herro as out. And Nuggets on how Heat confuses them; and Wade helping Butler
Heat guard Tyler Herro’s potential return to the NBA Finals has been delayed.
In the wake of ESPN and NBA TV reporting earlier this week that Herro likely would play by this point in the series, the Heat ruled out Herro for Wednesday’s Game 3 in Miami (8:30 p.m., ABC).
“He has not been cleared [by doctors to return to game action] yet, so that’s where we are,” Erik Spoelstra said. “But we’re encouraged by the work that he has been doing.”
Herro has been sidelined for more than seven weeks since breaking his right hand in the first half of the Heat’s playoff opener against Milwaukee.
Though Herro told ESPN Radio sideline reporter Ros Gold-Onwude on Sunday that he’s still experiencing discomfort and swelling, he has not spoken to the general media in a few weeks, per team policy.
“Yeah, I don’t want to be Nostradamus right now,” Spoelstra said. “We’re taking it one day at a time. I know that sounds cliche. He did the practice with the group. He is going to do a full-contact workout after this. We’ll evaluate that. We’ll meet with the training staff later on [Tuesday] and probably [Wednesday], and we’ll just continue this process.”
Herro, Victor Oladipo (knee/out) and Cody Zeller (probable/right foot sprain) are the only players on the Heat injury report.
Caleb Martin, who played in the past two games, said he’s feeling much better after battling an illness that affected him in Games 1 and 2.
He had “cold chills, body aches, heavy, heavy migraine. I was just laying down pretty much in the dark. I feel like I’ve almost got it out of my system, so definitely feeling a lot better than I did the last two games.”
HEAT CONFUSING DENVER
Denver forward Michael Porter Jr. said Tuesday that the Heat is confusing the Nuggets’ defense, which has led to a bunch of open Heat jump shots.
“They run some pretty tough actions to guard,” he said. “Unique actions that probably only they do. They are doing some things to try to confuse us defensively.
“They’re playing off of our coverages. If we say ‘switch!’ they’re slipping out for open threes. if we don’t say ‘switch!’ they set the screens. They’re doing a really good job of playing off our game plan.”
▪ Jimmy Butler said Tuesday that he appreciates the support he’s receiving from Heat icon Dwyane Wade, who told Butler before signing with Miami that he would be an ideal fit for the Heat’s culture.
“It’s always D-Wade just telling me to be myself and be who I am, create my own story and go out there and compete and do what you love to do, and that’s win,” Butler said Tuesday.
“He’s been in my corner for a very long time now. I’m very grateful. He is a huge reason why I’m here. I don’t like to be compared to that guy, but the one thing that I do want to be like him is a champion. That’s what I’ve got to go do.”
▪ Denver forward Aaron Gordon said Kaseya Center is one of the NBA’s five loudest arenas — “this place gets rocking” — and Kyle Lowry said “I think just we have a different vibe here. The vibe down here is just awesome, and when it gets going here, it’s really like a party.
“You have to enjoy it. You enjoy the music. They sing with you. They sing along. It’s just a great place to be and the fan base is unbelievable. And I’m sure [Wednesday] is going to be nuts in here.”
This will be the Heat’s first home NBA Finals game since 2014; its most recent NBA Finals appearance, against the Lakers in 2020, was played inside the Disney bubble due to COVID-19.
▪ Though the 6-10 Porter has been matched up at times with the 6-2 Gabe Vincent, Porter said he’s limited in his ability to seize on that mismatch.
“There may be times we feel we have a mismatch but that’s not the offense we’re running,” Porter said. “If Gabe is guarding me, I feel I can get the ball and go score but that’s not what our team offensive [approach] is about. There are ways, getting on the glass, getting downhill to use my size around the rim, that I could be doing a little better.”
▪ Nuggets and former UM guard Bruce Brown said he hoped to see Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga this week.
“We were in Pinecrest [Tuesday] at [teammate] Jeff Green’s house at a team dinner, and we drove by UM,” Brown said. “It just brought back memories, me going to the McDonald’s across the street on U.S. 1 and being in the CVS a lot. It’s great to be back. I might go back to campus and see the new dorms. I was there last summer working out.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 5:14 PM.
