The Miami Heat are taking on the Denver Nuggets for Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight. Making their way to the Mile High City, the Heat look sharp after their Game 7 win over the Celtics. Playing the Nuggets, the Heat will require every player to be at their best. That led to fans asking questions about Tyler Herro. Shaquille O’Neal once again rose to the occasion. Working with NBA TV for Games 1 and 2, Shaq helped us answer the question we all had. How did he do so? He went and asked Herro directly.
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Herro broke his hand in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs as the Heat took on the Bucks.
Tyler Herro is seemingly in a lot of pain in his right hand after diving after a loose ball… pic.twitter.com/4uAQxVcJN8
— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) April 16, 2023
Since then, he’s been working on getting back to the court. Here’s what he said to Shaq when O’Neal asked about his status.
Tyler Herro tells Shaquille O’Neal his availability status
Working his way back from nearly six weeks of injury is not going to be an easy task. He last played in Game 1 of Round 1. The Heat have now moved on to the NBA Finals. It’s a whole different ball game and won’t be easy to get used to the pace.
However, Herro has been here before. He was part of the Bubble roster that made it to the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. This time he’d hope to suit up and get a different result for his team. Ahead of the game, Shaquille O’Neal met him in the hallway and asked him, “Hey, you playing?”
Herro replied and either said, “Next Game” or “No.”
“Hey, you playing?!”@SHAQ getting info straight from the source 😅 pic.twitter.com/mSAiypF1Rs
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 2, 2023
He’s expected to make a return in Game 2 of the series. We’ll have to see whether Herro is back for the Heat soon, and if he is, how does he fit into the rotation.
Draymond Green expects Miami to keep Herro out of the rotation
The Miami Heat have been brilliant these playoffs. They started as the 8th seed and beat all the odds to make it to the NBA Finals. Draymond Green talked about the same on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show.
Talking about the Heat, Green talked about Herro’s return, and how that’s a dicey situation.
“He’s too talented not to bring back. But I wouldn’t slot him into rotation. Why wouldn’t I slot him into rotation? Well, again, remember all the guys that I just spoke about having a rhythm? I don’t want to mess with that rhythm.
So what I’m going to save Tyler Herro for is when I need a spark. Like if I need a spark, say we go down one, oh, we go down two, oh, we need a spark. Tyler comes in, he gets it going.”
We’ll have to see what Coach Spo does in Game 2, when Herro returns. For now, let’s get through Game 1 first.
