Can the Heat afford to tap in Tyler Herro during the Finals?
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was made available to play in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals, coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game.
“He’s ready to go,” Spoelstra said. “He’ll be available.”
The Heat were hoping Herro, who has been out of the lineup since Game 1 of the first round of the 2023 playoffs, could manage the discomfort in his broken right hand.
"He's ready to go. He'll be available"@MiamiHEAT HC Erik Spoelstra announces that Tyler Herro will return tonight in Game 5 pic.twitter.com/QwIQGPf0Lo
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 12, 2023
Herro began making progress with his hand injury leading up to Game 2. Prior to Game 3 in the Finals, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he was encouraged by the progress Herro has shown. However, he ultimately missed Game 3 and Game 4, too.
The Heat swingman was diving for a loose ball late in the second quarter of the Eastern Conference playoff opener against the Milwaukee Bucks when the injury to his right hand occurred. He re-entered the game, but was leaning forward in obvious pain in front of Miami’s bench in the final minute of the first half.
“I feel like I had some things to prove this postseason,” Herro said in April. “It was a tough moment. I still can’t believe it.”
He had surgery on April 21 for the fracture, with a four-to-six week recovery timetable, making a Finals return possible.
Since being sidelined, Herro has been relegated to offering his teammates support in conspicuously gaudy outfits — topics of much conversation — from the sidelines.
A fourth-year veteran, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the regular season as Miami’s No. 3 scoring option behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Information from NBA.com’s Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press was used in this report.
