As if the Miami Heat‘s incredible run to the NBA Finals wasn’t impressive enough, the storied franchise was able to accomplish this feat without arguably one of the team’s best players.
Sharpshooter Tyler Herro went down with a broken hand in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
At the time, many assumed losing Herro meant the end of the team’s postseason run, as he’s one of the team’s best scorers and an essential piece of the championship for Erik Spoelstra and company.
Even without Herro, the team was able to go the distance and advance to the Finals, but Miami won’t get him back for Game 1 on Thursday night in Denver, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears via Spoelstra.
Spoelstra says Herro won’t play in Game 1 and “he’s not there yet” in terms of returning.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 31, 2023
Despite not being able to return for the Finals opener on Thursday, Herro is expected to return during this series, with the prediction being Game 3, which will be the first of at least two games played in Miami.
The addition of Herro will give the Heat some more firepower and outside shooting, which will come in handy against a team as talented as the Nuggets.
Even when Herro returns, Denver will still be considered the favorite unless the Heat can win two games on the road before playing Kaseya Center in Miami in Game 3.
It’ll be interesting to see how Herro’s eventual return will impact this team and if Miami needs him in order to get the best of Nikola Jokic and company in this series.
