Miami Heat star shooting guard Tyler Herro will not play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
Herro broke his right hand in the first round of the playoffs versus the Milwaukee Bucks and underwent surgery. The former Sixth Man of the Year was cleared to resume basketball activities a week ago, so he could play in Game 3 or 4 of the Finals.
“I’m not a math guy, so I’m not good with percentages,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He will not play [Game 1]. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves right now. He’s still just starting this process. We do have a few days here just to continuous work. I can’t even make any kind of proclamation until he takes these next important steps, and that’s with contact and doing things more on the court live.
“We’ll just see. We’re all encouraged by his progress that he’s made, but we want to continue to be responsible and make the best decisions. He’s not there yet.”
NBA NEWS & FINALS COVERAGE: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat & Denver Nuggets Updates
Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Heat during the regular season while shooting 43.9% from the floor, 37.8% from beyond the arc and 93.4% from the free-throw line. He was third on the team in points per game, trailing only All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
According to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT, Herro is expected to make his return at some point during the NBA Finals, with Game 3 being the likely target.
NBA NEWS & FINALS COVERAGE: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat & Denver Nuggets Updates
“I’m going to be working out every day, twice, two or three times a day, from here until the day I hopefully come back,” Herro said after the Heat advanced to the 2023 Finals. “So I’m just going to continue to work hard and see how my body responds day by day and I’m trying to come back as soon as possible.”
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