Tyler Herro will not return to the Miami Heat roster for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Wednesday that Herro was ruled out due to the fractured hand that has sidelined him since Miami’s playoff debut against the Milwaukee Bucks. Herro was recently cleared for basketball activities and held drills with his teammates on Wednesday.
Spoelstra said he wasn’t ready for live contact and would miss Thursday’s opener against the Denver Nuggets.
“He won’t play tomorrow” Spoelstra told reporters. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves at the moment. He is just beginning this process. We have a few days here just to continue his work. I can’t even make a proclamation until he takes those important next steps. And that’s with contact and doing more things on the pitch live. We’ll just see.
“I know we’re all encouraged by the progress he’s made, but we want to continue to be responsible and make the best decisions. He’s not here yet.
Spoelstra declined to put a timeline on Herro’s potential return.
Herro suffered a hand injury in Miami’s Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs on April 16. He broke the second and third metacarpals in his (right) shooting hand while diving for a loose ball before halftime and did not return to play.
He underwent surgery for the injury on April 21 and was given a minimum schedule of six weeks to return. Friday will mark six weeks from the day of his operation.
Herro was Miami’s third-leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, and shooting 37.8% on eight 3-point attempts per game. match. Despite his absence, Miami thrived from a distance during the playoffs.
A Heat team that ranked 27th in the regular season in 3-point shooting at 34.4 percent ranks first out of 16 playoff teams with a 39 percent completion rate from playoff distance.