The Miami Heat announced on Friday that guard Tyler Herro is set to miss a minimum of six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair the broken fingers on his shooting hand.
Herro suffered the injury during Game 1 of his team’s first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks and missed Game 2 as a result.
The University of Kentucky product recorded 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in the first contest of the series before exiting for good.
It was recently reported that the Heat would need to make it all the way to the NBA Finals in order for Herro to have a shot at returning this season, and the timeline provided by the team confirms that.
In exactly six weeks, the 2023 NBA Finals will have already started, with Game 1 of the Finals currently scheduled for June 1.
Surely, the Heat are hoping that they will still be playing at that time, but they’re undoubtedly more focused on getting past the Bucks first.
Miami stole Game 1 of the series, shooting 59.5 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from beyond the arc en route to a 130-117 win.
It had a great chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2 with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a back injury, but the Heat struggled to contain the Bucks early on and wound up losing 138-122.
The series now shifts to South Florida for Game 3 and Game 4. Game 3 is set to take place on Saturday night, with the following contest scheduled for Monday night.
During the 2022-23 regular season, Herro recorded 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while knocking down 43.9 percent of his shots from the field and 37.8 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
If his season is indeed over, it was a pretty solid one all in all, though his efficiency went down a bit compared to last season.
Some might believe that the former first-round pick has played his final game for the Heat. His name has been mentioned in some trade rumors involving Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard, who is no stranger to being linked to the Heat.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the 23-year-old.