Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Spoelstra rules out Herro for Game 1
DENVER – The waiting game with Tyler Herro will continue, with coach Erik Spoelstra saying Wednesday that if Herro is to return from his broken right hand in the NBA Finals it will not be in Thursday’s 8:30 p.m. series opener against the Denver Nuggets.
Just as certain, Heat guard Jimmy Butler said Wednesday, is that the ankle sprain that kept him out of the May 2 Game 2 of the second-round series against the New York Knicks will not keep him from his appointed rounds, even as he acknowledged it as an issue.
“I’m still expected to do my job at a high level if I take the floor, which I will,” he said, having appeared to tweak the right ankle in Monday’s Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
“We’re going to be OK,” he said. “We’re going to get the job done, bum ankle or not.”
Butler then declined to take further questions about the ankle.
As for Herro, he broke his hand in the first half of the Heat’s first playoff game, an April 16 road victory over the Milwaukee
Bucks, undergoing surgery later that week, with a six-week timetable for a return to court work.
“I’m not a math guy, so I’m not good with percentages,” Spoelstra said when asked about the chances of a Herro return in the best-of-seven series. “He will not play [Thursday].
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves right now. He’s still just starting this process. We do have a few days here just to continue his work. I can’t even make any kind of proclamation until he takes these next important steps, and that’s with contact and doing things more on the court live.”
Herro has been going through rigorous drill work with assistant coach Chris Quinn.
“We’ll just see,” said Spoelstra, who has been utilizing Max Strus in what had been Herro’s starting role at shooting guard. “We’re all encouraged by his progress that he’s made, but we want to continue to be responsible and make the best decisions. He’s not there yet.”
Thanks to Coach L
Former University of Miami wing Bruce Brown, who has thrived as backup point guard for the Nuggets, said Wednesday he plans to spend time with Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga once the series shifts to Miami for Games 3 and 4.
“My time at Miami was great. Coach L was one of the greatest coaches I’ve had,” said Brown, who was drafted out of UM at No. 42 in 2018 by the Detroit Pistons after two seasons with the ’Canes. “His practices were set up for me to get to the league.
“I loved my time in Miami with him, as I said. I can’t wait to see him when we get down there. He actually texted me.”
Brown said he relished the ’Canes trip to this year’s Final Four.
“I definitely enjoyed it,” he said. “I was talking smack in the locker room. You heard it all year — Kansas is better than Miami, all these guys, whenever they went. I was screaming at the TV. I watched every game. Super excited for those guys.
“I worked out there all last summer, so I was around them a little bit. I was just super proud of them.”
Preseason schedule
The Heat on Wednesday announced their three-game home preseason schedule.
The Heat will host the Charlotte Hornets at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, the Memphis Grizzlies at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 and the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 18.
Tickets for those games go on sale Friday at noon.
The Heat’s exhibition road schedule and 2023-24 regular-season schedule have yet to be announced.
Summer schedule
In addition to a full schedule at the leaguewide Las Vegas Summer league in July, the Heat again also will play a summer schedule at the California Classic.
On Wednesday it was announced the Heat will play the summer roster of the Los Angeles Lakers at 6 p.m. Eastern July 3 in Sacramento and the summer roster of the Kings at 10 p.m. Eastern on July 5 in Sacramento.
The San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets and Golden State Warriors also will participate in the California Classic, with the possibility of the Heat scrimmaging against those teams, as well.
The Heat hold the No. 18 pick in the June 22 NBA draft.