Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wants to be responsible with Tyler Herro’s return: ‘We’re really encouraged by the progress’

This past weekend Heat guard Tyler Herro reached six weeks since he broke his hand in the opening match of the playoff’s first round against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. His recovery has been described by the team’s medical staff as an “open reduction and internal fixation surgery of the third and fourth metacarpal of his right hand.”

Even though the player is soon to be healthy, he was ruled out of Miami’s Game 2 triumph this Sunday evening, but remains on the verge of making his comeback.

His coach Erik Spoelstra doesn’t want emotion to get the best of him, because he wants to treat his injury as reponsibly as possible.

“He is progressing,” the trainer said. “We’re really encouraged by the progress. He started doing contact work as soon as we got to Denver. We have to maintain perspective. We want to be responsible about this. We’re all excited and encouraged by his progress.

“When we get back to Miami all we’re doing is just sticking to the process, trying to stack positive days; also understanding this is not like trying to return to a game in December. This is the Finals. So, there is a little bit of context to this.”

Take a look at the moment when Herro reached for a ball and broke his hand at the beginning of postseason:

Back when he suffered his injury, the 23-year-old underwent surgery and was projected he’d be cleared to resume basketball activities by May 23, but still no clear date on when he’d be able to make his way back to the floor.

Behind the scenes, Herro has been taking extra-work sessions in practice to try and accelerate his recovery.

“I’m going to be working out every day, twice, two or three times a day, from here until the day I hopefully come back,” he assured. “So I’m just going to continue to work hard and see how my body responds day by day and I’m trying to come back as soon as possible.”

The Nuggets are also aware that Herro might make his return soon to bolster Miami’s offensive options

Herro’s return might prove to be the offensive option that coach Spoelstra needs during certain moments of the NBA Finals, against a Nuggets defensive side that has demonstrated they can guard their shooters well.

“We’ve talked about knowing he’s gonna come back at some point in this series,” Denver coach Michael Malone said of the injured player. “We know what kind of talent he is, his ability to play off the bounce, create for himself, create for his teammates and obviously shoot the 3-ball. So, if and when he becomes available, our guys will be ready from a personnel standpoint and a gameplan standpoint.”

The 23-year-old is a four-year NBA athlete that has averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists during the regular season, becoming the Heat’s third-best scoring option behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

“It’s great, man,” teammate Gabe Vincent said. “Obviously, Tyler was a huge part of our team and he still is whether he’s on the court or off the court. Just being a voice and being there, so it’s been great having him around.

“It’s great to see him put in work and it’s good to see his progress.”