The Miami Heat have five players listed as questionable for Thursday night’s Game 6 road matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Questionable for Heat for Thursday:
Tyler Herro (ankle sprain)
Caleb Martin (ankle sprain)
Max Strus (hamstring)
P.J. Tucker (calf strain)
Gabe Vincent (knee irritation)— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) May 11, 2022
On Tuesday night, the Heat put themselves in a position to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in the past three seasons with a 120-85 blowout victory over the Sixers.
Herro finished the 2021-22 regular season as the Heat’s second-leading scorer, averaging a career-high 20.7 points per game coming off the bench. In the Tuesday night win against the 76ers, he played just under 22 minutes and scored 10 points, while contributing three assists and two rebounds.
In Game 1 of the series against the 76ers, Herro scored 25 points. He then collected a double-double in the Game 4 loss with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Tucker was a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists during that time.
The trio of Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent has primarily made its contributions in a reserve capacity. While those efforts may be limited in nature on Thursday, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra would like to have as many available players as possible.
In the Heat’s two previous playoff contests in Philadelphia thus far, they’ve been unable to come away with a victory. Doing so on Thursday would help avoid the drama surrounding a winner-take-all battle in Game 7 on Sunday.
Should the Heat come away with a victory on Thursday night, they can wait to see which opponent they’ll face in the Eastern Conference Finals. Entering Game 5 of their series in Boston on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are currently tied at two games apiece.
