The Miami Heat can advance to the NBA Finals if or when they finish off the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
They currently lead the series 3-0 and have a chance to beat Boston in Game 4 on Tuesday.
If or when Miami reaches the championship series, their chances of winning it all will likely hinge on the availability of guard Tyler Hero, who is out after suffering a hand injury in the first round of the playoffs.
According to head coach Erik Spoelstra, via reporter Tim Bontemps, there is no timetable for his return, although he has made progress in his recovery.
Erik Spoelstra says there is no timetable for Tyler Hero’s return, but that he has had his brace removed and is continuing to rehab.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 23, 2023
It’s amazing the Heat made it this far, especially without Hero.
They faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, a team that had won the world championship just two years earlier, and they were considered strong underdogs.
But they were able to knock off the Bucs, who had a league-best record in the regular season, in five games.
Miami then swept the New York Knicks in five games in the next round despite having a much smaller front line.
Herro is a very important member of the team as he is their only consistent offensive threat off the dribble other than Jimmy Butler.
He averaged 20.1 points per game in the regular season after moving into the starting lineup permanently following his sixth Man of the Year win last year.
The NBA Finals seeded Denver Nuggets out of the Western Conference will be very tough to beat, even with a healthy Hero, but the Heat have been there and done that before.
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The Heat are one win away from incredible Finals odds