Will the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro Return for the NBA Finals?

The Miami Heat had an easy victory during Game 7 in Boston, allowing them to advance to the NBA Finals. Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin played key roles in leading the team to a surprising win, preventing the possibility of them being remembered for losing a 3-0 lead against the Boston Celtics. Despite having limited players during the postseason, Coach Eric Spoelstra successfully guided the team to their sixth NBA Finals appearance. Furthermore, the team may have a valuable player returning to the lineup soon, completing the puzzle for their upcoming games.

In his first year, Herro explodes

The Miami Heat’s performance in their playoff journey towards the NBA Finals has been incredibly impressive. It becomes even more remarkable when you consider that they lost one of their top scorers during the very first game of the opening round, despite being an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Herro’s emergence as a talented rookie from the University of Kentucky played a significant role in the Heat’s journey to the NBA Finals in the COVID-affected Bubble Season. Although he earned a place on the All-Rookie second team by averaging 13 points and 4 rebounds in his rookie season, it was his postseason performance that made him a household name. He scored 37 points in the Conference Finals game against the Boston Celtics, and he became the youngest player to start an NBA Finals game at just 20 years and 256 days old after defeating the Celtics.

Heat’s Tyler Herro has a broken right hand.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 16, 2023

Miami missed 20 points per game during the postseason

During this season, Herro ranked third on the Heat’s scoring chart, with an average of 20.1 points per game, trailing behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Additionally, he is known as Miami’s sharpshooter, as he has the highest three-point shooting rate on the team, at 37.5%.

However, during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, Herro’s hand was broken after colliding with Grayson Allen while attempting to retrieve a loose ball. As a result, he underwent surgery shortly after the game and will be out of action for 4-6 weeks. Recently, during pregame shows and on Twitter, Herro has been seen warming up, but he has not been playing and has been wearing casual clothes, which has drawn criticism from TNT commentator Stan Van Gundy.

Stan Van Gundy:

“You know the #1 reason why the Heat need Tyler Herro back, because his fashion is so bad on the bench” 😂 pic.twitter.com/TvXbeyU5oq

— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) May 24, 2023

Van Gundy and the Heat received positive news as it appears that Herro’s absence from the court is nearing its end. After sustaining a hand injury on April 16th, six weeks have passed since the Heat’s Game 1 victory over the Bucks. As Game 7 approached in Boston, Chris Haynes from TNT reported that Herro is anticipated to make a comeback in Game 3 of the Finals if the Heat advance.

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (hand fracture) is ramping up workouts and is expected to make his return at some point during NBA Finals with Game 3 being the likely target, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 30, 2023

The Heat have progressed to the next stage and now face the challenge of winning at least one of the next two games in Denver before Herro returns for Game 3 in Miami. The NBA Finals will commence on Thursday at 8:30 pm ET.

Read more: Miami Heat Dominate Boston Celtics in Game 3, One Step Closer to NBA Finals Glory