NBA
Miami’s Tyler Herro is likely to be out until the NBA Finals as he undergoes surgery for his broken hand
Heat’s Tyler Herro has announced that this Friday he will undergo surgery for his broken right hand and most probably won’t recover this postseason unless his squad wins the Eastern Conference title and head to the NBA Finals, as his return is expected to be in at least four weeks.
This past Tuesday, the point guard said that his improvement will depend on how well the operation goes this weekend, and his return to court might extend to a maximum of six weeks. The conference finals start in the middle of May and the first game of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 1.
Heat’s Tyler Herro devastated by gruesome hand injury; surgery set for Friday https://t.co/rK6dFb2oEp
— Sentinel Sports (@orlandosports) April 19, 2023
In his own words, the extent of his rehab means he’s much closer to return to the NBA Finals than any conference playoffs matches. “That’s the hope,” he said. “Get to the finals and I can get back for that.”
Herro got injured this past Sunday in the second quarter of Miami’s 13-point margin victory over the Bucks, as he dived for a loose ball and fractured his hand.
“I watched the video and I still don’t know like where I hit my hand,” said the Wisconsin native who graduated from Whitnall High School. “I still don’t know. I probably shouldn’t have dove on it, but I was trying to create some energy. We were on the road, in my hometown. Just trying to play hard.”
The 23-year-old is still processing the fact that he won’t be competing in this current postseason.
“Obviously being at home and being in the playoffs, you work so hard all year to be in this moment, where I feel like I had some things to prove this postseason,” said Herro. “So it was a tough moment. I still can’t believe it.
“It’ll probably sink in [Wednesday] night, when I can’t suit up. It’s my first time breaking a bone, and unfortunate timing.”
The young guard became Miami’s third-leading scorer behind Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists during this past regular season.
Herro admitted he had not idea he’d broken a bone at the time
With all the adrenaline rush a professional athlete can feel during a NBA postseason contest, the player assures that he felt no pain once he’d broken his hand and even kept playing.
Check out the exact moment when Herro suffers the injury that’s keeping him out of the season:
“I didn’t know my hand was broken at the time,” he said after Miami’s practice on Tuesday. “I knew I was in pain, That was probably the most open shot I’ve gotten all year. So I was like, ‘I’m shooting it either way.’ And I shot it, and that’s when I knew, like, ‘OK, something’s wrong,’ because I couldn’t even follow through with my hand.
“And got to the back, and seen right away, my bones were like in my palm. And I like pushed them up as I was going to the back. And I said it was broken for sure.”
The Heat are currently concentrated in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, as Game 2 will be this Wednesday in Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.