Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was injured during the first game of the 2023 Playoffs. When he underwent surgery to repair the broken right hand, he was given a timetable that appeared would force him to miss the rest of the season. But the Heat have made an improbable run to the NBA Finals as the 8th seed, and Herro has reportedly been eyeing a return at some point in the very near future.
Tyler Herro Might Miss Entire NBA Finals
Reporting from #NBAFinals: I spoke with Tyler Herro ahead his Game 2 pregame routine and he told me he experiences both soreness and swelling in the right hand after shooting and he can feel the soreness when he’s making a “follow through” shooting motion. He also shared his…
— Ros Gold-Onwude (@ROSGO21) June 5, 2023
There was speculation that he might pull off a Game 1 appearance. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski before the game, Herro was seriously eyeing Sunday’s Game 2 as his target date for return. But things didn’t quite break his way over the weekend, and the Heat’s 3rd leading scorer from the regular season was out yet again for Miami’s series-tying victory.
On Monday morning, reports came out that Herro may not be progressing through his rehab as quickly as initially thought. ESPN’s Ros Gold-Onwude sent out a tweet that highlighted the situation after she herself spoke with Herro. She said that he is experiencing swelling and soreness in his hand, and mostly during the “follow through” motion of shooting a basketball.
But perhaps the most interesting part of the tweet and conversation with Herro was the player’s potential reluctance to return to the lineup. There is no denying that the Heat are playing their best basketball of the season over the last 6 weeks, all of which has come with Herro out of the rotation.
Shaq: “Hey you playing”
Tyler Herro: “Eventually.”
Shaq going straight to the source
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/UBAMWmaZxq
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) June 2, 2023
There are questions about his defensive abilities that could create matchup issues, and that would very much be the case in these NBA Finals. While Nikola Jokić is the star player for the Nuggets, Jamal Murray has been a catalyst for them all postseason long, and guarding him would likely fall on the shoulders of Herro at some point.
Tyler Herro probably knows this. That is why he told Gold-Onwude that he has considered not coming back at all, citing that he wouldn’t want to mess up the rhythm that the team currently has.
He may be on to something. It would not only take time to integrate him back into the rotation, but the Nuggets would know all about the ailment and would probably do their best to exploit it.
Game 3 in Miami will take place on Wednesday evening.