Thanks to an untimely groin injury, Miami Heat star Tyler Herro was ruled out of Game 4 against the Celtics and, needless to say, his presence was sorely missed. On a night when Jimmy Butler was held to just six points, Miami was forced to ride Victor Oladipo to an 82-point output (which equated to a 20-point loss).
Miami could be even more shorthanded in Game 5, too, as the club is listing Herro (groin), Kyle Lowry (hamstring), Max Strus (hamstring), P.J. Tucker (knee) and Gabe Vincent (hamstring) as questionable to participate. Jimmy Butler isn’t on the injury report.
Regarding Herro, there’s a growing concern that he could be out of commission for a while, which obviously wouldn’t bode well for the Heat’s title chances. That said, no team in the Association has exemplified the “next man up” mindset like the South Beach crew.
Moreover, a new report has indicated that the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year is hellbent on returning to the court and helping the Heat get past the Beantowners.
ESPN: Herro Pushing for Early Comeback
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne checked in with the latest on Herro’s groin injury. And while she said that he was expected to be on the shelf for multiple weeks, the league insider further revealed that he’s trying to force his way back onto the court.
“From what I’m told, this is an injury — this groin injury he has — that would normally keep him out two to four weeks if this was the regular season, but he is pushing really hard to play either in the next game or the game after that because he just wants to be out there,” Shelburne said on NBA Today.
Nevertheless, the team is determined to play it safe with Herro — whether he agrees with the approach or not.
“We’ll see who wins this battle here, but Erik Spoelstra kind of alluded to that when he talked about it the other day. He said, ‘We have to take the decision out of his hands. Our trainers don’t think it’s a good idea. We’re going to call him day to day,'” Shelburne reported. “But there’s a little behind the scenes going on.”
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Herro’s Rough Go
Although Butler and Bam Adebayo remain the cornerstones, one could make the argument that Herro was Miami’s regular-season MVP. The baller scored more total points (1,367) than any other Heat player and was often the tip of the spear offensively down the stretch, scoring a team-best 5.6 points per fourth quarter.
It has been a different story during postseason play, though, particularly in recent contests.
Over his last eight playoff games, Herro has averaged just 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing. Along the way, he connected on a paltry 20% of his attempts from three-point range and posted the Heat’s third-worst defensive rating at 115.6.
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Miami Heat Star ‘Pushing Really Hard’ for Shock Return: Insider