Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed that guard Tyler Herro still has not been cleared to return to action for the team.
Herro has been out of the lineup for Miami since he broke his hand in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Erik Spoelstra says Tyler Herro's contact work to this point has come in drills that involve contact work with coaches. So still not cleared for that final step.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) June 8, 2023
In his lone playoff game this season, Herro scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. He also made two shots from beyond the arc in that game before exiting with his hand injury.
The Heat currently trail the Nuggets 2-1 in the NBA Finals after losing on Wednesday night in Miami. The team could use some more offense with Caleb Martin struggling in this series and Max Strus going through some inconsistent stretches shooting the ball.
Strus failed to make a shot in Game 1 and then scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in Game 3.
During the 2022-23 regular season, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc.
He’s been one of the team’s top offensive options for multiple seasons, and he would certainly help the team compete even if he were at less than 100 percent.
It seems like Herro still needs to clear some steps in order to play in Game 4. Game 4 is a big one for Miami, as the team undoubtedly wants to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the series before it shifts back to Denver for Game 5.
If Herro can’t suit up on Friday, the Heat will once again lean on the likes of Strus, Martin, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson to pick up the slack.
Vincent played great in the first two games of this series in Denver, but he took a step back in Game 3, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field and scoring just seven points.
If Herro were to miss Game 4 on Friday, his next chance to play would be on Monday, June 12 in Game 5 at Ball Arena in Denver.
