MIAMI — 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.
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 was injured while diving for a loose ball near the end of the first half of the Heat’s April 16 road game against the Milwaukee Bucks. He then underwent surgery April 21, with the Heat at the time saying in a release the Herro was “expected to miss a minimum of six weeks.”
Thursday will mark five weeks since that surgery.
The Heat typically make injured players available for comment only in the immediate wake of their injury and then upon their return.
On April 16, in the immediate wake of his injury, Herro said, “It was a tough moment. I still can’t believe it.”
Making it more difficult for Herro was that the injury came in Milwaukee, where Herro was raised.
It was a gruesome injury.
“I got to the back, and seen right away, my bones were like in my palm,” he said two days after his injury. “And I like pushed them up as I was going to the back. And I said it was broken for sure. The second and third metacarpal, I think they’re called, just snapped in half. My hand’s not in good shape right now.”
After winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2022, Herro emerged as a starter this season. His place in the playoff lineup has been taken by Max Strus.
The Heat are expected to be particularly cautious with Herro after signing him in the offseason to a four-year, $130 million extension that kicks in next season.
In addition to being without Herro, the Heat two games later in April lost veteran guard Victor Oladipo to a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Oladipo has since undergone surgery that will have him out for months, now in a brace and walking with the assistance of a single crutch.
Amid the playoff success the Heat carried into their Tuesday night game against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center, veteran forward Kevin Love said both sidelined guards have been missed, but that the Heat has shown the fortitude to persevere.
“Obviously us losing Vic, losing Tyler, those are guys that we wish that we had, players that we wish that we had right now,” said Love, who is leading with a leg strain. “But I think the level of cohesiveness and togetherness that we’ve had, being together since those guys have gone down, has shown.”
Guard Kyle Lowry said that similar absences throughout the regular season, including his five weeks off due to knee pain, helped establish resolve.
“You build a team for a reason,” Lowry said. “You build a 15-man roster, 17 with two-ways. You build that roster for a reason. And you build it with the belief that if something happens, the next person will step up, and that’s what we’ve done this whole season.
“Guys have been in and out of the lineup, injuries, myself. Jimmy [Butler] was out early, Tyler and Vic being out now. Everyone believes that they can play a role. We work hard. And a lot of the guys in this locker room work extremely hard. And guys are going to continue to work hard and be professionals and go out there and understand what the mission is, what their job is and do it as hard as possible.”
The NBA announced Tuesday that Butler was fined $25,000 by Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president, head of basketball operations, “for violating league rules governing media interview access.”
According to the NBA’s release, “The fine results from Butler’s failure to participate in required media availability following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 21.”
The Heat’s Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent addressed the media from the podium following Sunday’s Heat victory, with other Heat players speaking in the locker room.
