Heat’s Tyler Herro remains out for Game 4. Will he play in Finals?
MIAMI — With Tyler Herro not cleared to play in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and Game 4 just 48 hours later, it should be no surprise that we won’t see Herro on Friday night.
Herro is officially listed as out for Game 4. He has been out since April 16 with a severe hand fracture suffered in the first game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Herro went through a brief part of the public practice/shootaround in front of the media Thursday but didn’t speak to the press. Spoelstra said Herro has not yet been cleared for a game.
“This is just part of the process,” Erik Spoelstra said. “You have to go through stages. First part of it was just shooting, then movement, then contact versus coaches, and then the next level of contact in practice. He has not been cleared for a game, and he is still not cleared yet.”
Even if Herro were cleared for later in the series — and the Heat players and coaches say to a man he is putting in the work — how much of a role could he play at this point? While on paper he provides shooting and shot creation Miami needs this series (although he would be a target on defense), he hasn’t played in a game for nearly two months and Spoelstra can’t just throw him into the highest level of basketball in the world mid-series. Maybe he could get in a few non-Jokić minutes off the bench, but it’s a big ask for anything more than that. And maybe it’s too big an ask for even that.
Listening to Spoelstra’s tone, I wouldn’t expect to see Herro in this series.
And this summer, don’t be surprised when Herro’s name comes up in a lot of trade rumors.
Check out more on the Heat
Three things to watch, with betting tips, as Miami tries to slow Jokić,... PBT Podcast: Heat vs. Nuggets NBA Finals talk, Vogel to Suns Miami has thrived in adversity all playoffs. They have plenty of it in Game...
Heat’s Tyler Herro remains out for Game 4. Will he play in Finals? originally appeared on NBCSports.com
