Tyler Herro injury update- Heat star not expected to return from the hand injury he suffered early in NBA postseason
Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro is not expected to make his highly anticipated return from injury this postseason.
Herro has been sidelined since Game 1 of the Heat's first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a broken right hand. Initially, there were reports suggesting that Herro could potentially return for the NBA Finals, should the Heat make it that far.
At the time, many doubted the Heat's chances of reaching the finals, considering they were the eighth seed. However, Miami is now on the brink of securing its spot in the finals, leading the Boston Celtics 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. Unfortunately for Heat fans, Heat insider Will Manso revealed that Herro still has a significant road ahead of him in his recovery.
During a recent appearance on “The Rally,” Manso broke down Herro’s recovery process, saying that he doesn't see the shooting guard returning this postseason:
“He's not even close, guys,” Manso said. “I know it’s great to see him with his cast off, it’s great to see him kind of dribbling. We were out there the other day, he was dribbling, shooting left handed. I mean, Tyler’s got a long way to go. He’s still got to strengthen that hand now that it’s out of the cast, start shooting with it, get in the conditioning.
“To do that in realistically what, two weeks before these finals, if they get to the finals? I mean, the finals start June 1st. So, Tyler’s not gonna be ready for that, and to throw him into a Game 4 and say, ‘Hey Tyler come off the bench for eight (to) nine minutes,’ I don’t see that happening.”
"He's not even close guys... Tyler's got a long way to go. He's still got to strengthen that hand now that it's out of the cast."
@WillManso updates us on Tyler Herro's hand injury and his estimated return.
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Tyler Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 3.0 3-pointers per game on 43.9% shooting over 67 regular season games. He was the Heat’s third-leading scorer.
Also read: 3 reasons why the Boston Celtics won Game 4 against the Miami Heat
Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry on the Heat overcoming the loss of Tyler Herro
The Miami Heat have been able to overcome the loss of Tyler Herro throughout the playoffs so far. The Heat knocked off the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and the fifth-seeded New York Knicks without him.
Miami is now on the verge of knocking off the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the East finals. Earlier this week, Heat veterans Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry spoke about how Miami has been able to cope without Herro.
Love attributed the Heat’s success to their team chemistry:
“Obviously us losing Vic (Oladipo), losing Tyler, those are guys that we wish that we had, players that we wish that we had right now,” Love said.
“But I think the level of cohesiveness and togetherness that we’ve had, being together since those guys have gone down, has shown.”
Meanwhile, Lowry credited the Heat’s strong roster construction as the main reason for their resilience:
“You build a team for a reason,” Lowry said. “You build a 15-man roster, 17 with two-ways. You build that roster for a reason. And you build it with the belief that if something happens, the next person will step up, and that’s what we’ve done this whole season.
“Guys have been in and out of the lineup, injuries, myself. Jimmy (Butler) was out early, Tyler and Vic (Oladipo) being out now. Everyone believes that they can play a role.
“We work hard. And a lot of the guys in this locker room work extremely hard. And guys are going to continue to work hard and be professionals and go out there and understand what the mission is, what their job is and do it as hard as possible.”
Also read: "We’re gonna go get one on the road" - Jimmy Butler confident despite losing Game 4 at home