As the Miami Heat prepared to try and complete the sweep of the Boston Celtics in Tuesday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, they were on the receiving end of some encouraging news.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman, Heat guard Tyler Herro has been cleared to resume non-contact court work, five weeks after breaking his right hand.
“Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, out since the first half of the Heat’s first playoff game with a broken hand, has been cleared to resume non-contact court work,” Winderman reported. “While it means Herro again can work with his dominant, shooting hand, it merely is the start of the process of moving toward possible game action.”
Herro sustained the injury in Miami’s opening game in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 16. He’s been sidelined ever since, working his way back after having surgery.
Though he was just cleared to resume basketball activities, head coach Erik Spoelstra‘s comments from last week may encourage some fans. Spo mentioned that Herro was able to do “other things” while rehabbing his hand, meaning he very well could have been maintaining his cardio.
“The good thing about a hand is that you’re able to do other things with that,” Spoelstra told reporters on last prior to the series. “But he can’t shoot, he can’t dribble… He won’t be playing on Wednesday. Is that fair enough?”
Coach Spo provides an update on Tyler Herro’s hand injury
Target for Tyler Herro’s Heat Return Was Always NBA Finals
Herro’s recovery process seems to be right on track. Just days after suffering the injury at Fiserv Forum, the 23-year-old told Winderman that the target for his return was the NBA Finals, which Miami is just one win away from.
“I’ll get surgery on Friday morning [April 21] and it’s going to be four to six weeks, hopefully less, after that, and see what happens,” he said. “They said it would be more toward the [NBA] Finals, not the conference finals, just because of the rehab I’d have to do after surgery,” he explained. “So, yeah, I mean, that’s the hope, get to the Finals, and I can come back for that. But obviously just taking it one day at a time, get my surgery on Friday and go from there.”
May 25 will mark five weeks since the procedure, leaving the door open for Miami’s No. 14 suiting up in the NBA Finals.
Mock Trade Swaps Heat’s Tyler Herro for Zach LaVine
Herro has proven to be a key piece of the Heat’s success in the past, as he was a part of the team that made the Finals in 2020, and of course last year’s team that missed a second appearance by just one game.
However, seeing the team make the run they’ve made this spring, all while Herro sits on the bench in questionable outfits, may make the young star expendable in the offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley included Herro in the following hypothetical trade back on May 18.
Chicago Bulls Receive: Tyler Herro, Nikola Jović, Duncan Robinson and two first-round picks.
Miami Heat Receive: Zach LaVine
“The Bulls need top-shelf assets, and a LaVine trade is their best bet to find them,” Buckley wrote. “This is as good as any package Chicago could hope to land. Tyler Herro has serious centerpiece potential. He has averaged at least 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in each of the past two seasons, and he just turned 23 in January. Tack on Nikola Jović (last summer’s No. 27 pick) and two first-round picks (one this summer, one in 2027 or beyond), and that’s a big enough return to justify taking on the remainder of Duncan Robinson’s deal.”
LaVine would be an interesting option for the Heat. He’d certainly provide them with a little extra boost on the offensive end, which they need throughout the regular season.
LaVine averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for Chicago this season.
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Heat Receive Crucial Tyler Herro Injury Update on Brink of NBA Finals Berth