Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro has not been cleared to play in the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets yet.

Herro broke his right hand in the first round of the playoffs versus the Milwaukee Bucks and underwent surgery.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes the Heat don’t have to rush Herro back since they are playing well without him.

Herro told Ros Gold-Onwude of ESPN that he experiences both soreness and swelling in the right hand after shooting jumpers. The Heat and Nuggets are tied at 1-1 in the Finals.

The Heat have to win Games 3 and 4 at home in Miami to keep home-court advantage against the Nuggets, who are a strong road team.

NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 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.

Herro was cleared to resume basketball activities a week ago. However, the Heat will not throw him into the fire of an NBA Finals game if he still has pain and swelling.

“We’re all excited and encouraged by his progress, but we’ll get back to Miami. All we’re doing is sticking to the process, trying to stack positive days, also understanding this is not trying to return to a game in December,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This is the Finals. So there is a little bit of context to this.”

NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Tyler Herro, Miami Heat & Denver Nuggets Updates

Herro has career postseason averages of 14.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He played in the 2020 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Walt Disney World bubble during his rookie season and averaged 14.7 points.

Game 3 of the Finals is on Wednesday, June 7. Herro is not expected to play.

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