The Miami Heat suffered their first home loss of the NBA postseason on Tuesday night. Up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Miami failed to put the finishing touches on the series, losing 116-99.
It was also the first time all postseason that the Heat failed to score at least 110 points in a game that wasn’t against the New York Knicks. Miami was held under that threshold in all six meetings against their old-time rivals but surpassed it in all five games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the first three against Boston.
With a little bit of momentum swinging toward the Celtics, the Heat could use something positive swinging back their way. That could come in the form of Tyler Herro, as the team received some massive injury news ahead of Game 5 on Thursday night.
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According to head coach Erik Spoelstra, Herro has been cleared for basketball activities. He has begun taking part in individual drills as well as he is nearing a return to the court. The update was provided before the Heat and Celtics tipped off in Game 4.
“He is starting the process,” Spoelstra said. “So there’s no timetable. But he does have the brace off, and he’s able to do some ball handling and shooting.”
Herro originally injured his hand in the first-round series against the Bucks when diving for a loose ball. That was back on April 16th and he underwent surgery on April 21st to repair the second and third metacarpal in his right hand that he says, “just snapped in half.”
Many assumed that the injury would be season-ending as not many people predicted that the Heat would still be alive in the postseason. The six-week timetable that was originally placed on Herro would be June 2nd, with Game 1 of the NBA Finals, should the Heat get there, set for June 1st.
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While he is progressing, it has been reported that a return to the court for Herro is unlikely. However, it cannot be totally discounted as he has yet to be officially ruled out for the remainder of the season.
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