The injury timeframe is lining up for questions to come firing in on whether Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro will make an appearance during the upcoming Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
But it's still unclear if the Heat will get back Herro at any point in the series.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra addressed the availability of Herro, who broke his hand in the Heat's very first playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks, at Monday's practice and while the status of Herro remains up in the air, Spoelstra knows he won't be on the court for Game 1.
"There's no way I could even answer that right now," Spoelstra said, per team-provided video. "The good thing about a hand is you're able to do other things with that. But he can't shoot, he can't dribble, that kind of stuff. So, I don't have an update. He won't be playing Wednesday, is that fair enough?"
Herro suffered the injury after just 19 minutes on the floor as the eighth-seeded Heat began their improbable run to the conference finals. Miami announced Herro underwent successful surgery on April 21 and set his return at a minimum of six weeks.
If that timeline holds true then Herro would miss all of the Celtics-Heat series even if it went seven games with the last contest scheduled for May 29. And in the immediate aftermath of the injury, Herro had relayed he was eyeing the NBA Finals, which begin June 1, as his return.
"That's the hope," Herro told reporters, per The Associated Press. "Get to the Finals and I can get back for that."
But with so much at stake now, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility if Herro pushes himself back to play in the latter stages of the series.
The fourth-year pro was the Heat's third leading scorer in the regular season, averaging 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He also shot a league-best 93.4% from the free-throw line.
Herro had a forgettable Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics last year. He scored just 9.3 points per game while shooting an absurd 6.7% from beyond the arc. He also missed three games due to a groin injury. And now with another injury, Herro may not get the chance to redeem himself this time around.
