Miami Heat Injury Update: Tyler Herro Out Game 3 - Newstbt.com

Tyler Herro, who plays shooting guard for the Miami Heat, will not be playing in Game 3 of the NBA Finals due to a hand injury he sustained during the first game of the playoffs.

Although Tyler Herro (seen above in street clothes on the bench during Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Ball Arena in Denver) is still recovering from a fractured right hand sustained in Game 1 of the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has expressed his positivity towards Herro’s progress as a result of his surgery in April. Despite the tragedy of Victor Oladipo’s knee injury, Miami was the second #8 seed to progress to the NBA Finals, upsetting the #1 Bucks in the opening round and proving doubters and the betting market wrong. Such a feat has acted as a statement of the Heat’s underestimated abilities.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Colorado didn’t go the way Miami Heat had hoped, with the Denver Nuggets taking the win. However, they were able to make the necessary adjustments to the thin air and pull off the victory in Game 2, tying the series at 1-1. Heading back to Miami for the next two games, the Heat will have to make do without Herro whose status is still unknown.

Herro Timetable Unknown

During the regular season, Herro’s stats averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Moreover, he shot 37.8% from 3-point range and 8 attempts each game. While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, coach Spoelstra said he did not want to predict the outcome that Herro’s absence could do to the team. He reported that Herro went through a practice session with the group and will soon go through a full-contact workout. Max Strus, who filled in for Herro during his absence, averages 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in the postseason. He has a 33.6% 3-point percentage and 42.2% field goal percentage. Herro has been a reliable scorer for the Heat during the regular season, but he is a potential weak spot defensively.

Coach Spoelstra is known for finding ways to maximize his players’ court time without sacrificing too much on the defensive end. True to form, the Heat have deployed a zone defense to great advantage this postseason, most notably in Game 1 against Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Faced with the same challenge in Game 2, the Heat changed their approach, forcing Jokic to take on the role of a scorer, which resulted in his 41-point performance – though it was not enough to secure the win. The Nuggets are just 0-2 this postseason when Jokic records 40 points or more, emphasizing how important it is for the Nuggets to share the ball and get at least 10 assists from Jokic. Indeed, the Nuggets are 8-2 when Jokic dishes out 10 or more assists. Game 3 of the NBA Finals will be a crucial litmus test for the respective defensive schemes of both teams.

NBA Finals Betting: Game 3

The Heat are +190 odds to win the championship with a 4-3 series score.

At the start of the 2023 NBA Finals, the top-seeded Denver Nuggets were favorites with -480 odds of winning the championship, while the Miami Heat were considered an underdog with +330 odds. After the Nuggets won Game 1, their championship odds narrowed to -800, and the Heat’s odds shifted to +550, indicating a rally. Following the Heat’s victory in Game 2, their championship odds improved to +220, while the Nuggets’ odds dropped to -270. Based on the betting line changes, the Heat opened as a +2 home underdog in Game 3 and the line has since moved to +2.5 due to a steady flow of money being placed on the Nuggets. With the series score set at 1-1, DraftKings released a prop bet for the exact result of the NBA Finals, offering +225 odds for the Nuggets to win the championship in seven games, or with a 4-3 series score, and +190 odds for the Heat to win it in seven games.

The Nuggets have +295 odds of winning the Title with a 4-2 series score, or winning the Championship by winning three games in a row for a 4-1 series score, which pays +320 odds. The Heat are +500 odds of winning the title with a 4-2 series outcome.