The Miami Heat could’ve used a bit of a scoring punch for most of the NBA Finals.
Tyler Herro was finally available for Game 5, and one could argue that he could’ve been quite helpful on the court, especially down the stretch, yet coach Erik Spoelstra chose not to play him at all.
When asked about that, Spoelstra admitted that it’s going to be a decision that’s going to keep him up at night for the next couple of weeks.
However, he also believes it would’ve been quite tough for him to be back on the floor for such a physical series after missing the past couple of months and having absolutely no time or reps to ramp up his comeback, per Barry Jackson.
Spo,on why no Herro:"I'll probably have to wrestle with that all summer" and said injecting him into this physicality would be "a tough thing for a guy that's been out for 2 months&hasn't had any kind of ramp up.But that won't save me from thinking about that the next few weeks" https://t.co/UJNicKJosJ
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) June 13, 2023
There’s no denying that Herro’s scoring outbursts could’ve been quite helpful.
He’s arguably their best offensive player, and the Heat’s offense became stagnant from time to time, with their role players struggling to get anything going against Denver’s elite defense.
Herro was the Heat’s second-leading scorer throughout the regular season, and he’s their most reliable shooter from all over the court.
Then again, there’s also the chance that he would’ve hurt his team even further, as he’s never been much of a stopper, and he would’ve needed some time to get his legs back under him after such a long layoff.
For now, we’ll just never know how things could’ve gone down with him on the floor, and that decision will haunt his coach for the next couple of months.
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