In the moment, the gravity was difficult to discern. On one hand, in this case the right hand, Tyler Herro was in considerable anguish. On the other hand, he still was ambulatory and able enough to launch a successful 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half of Sunday’s 130-117 Miami Heat victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was only after the fact, after the Heat retreated to the locker room at the intermission, that they realized the stakes — two broken fingers on Herro’s shooting hand that could sideline the fourth–year guard for weeks if not months.
“He was in so much pain, but I didn’t really know what it was.” coach Erik Spoelstra said, his team up 1-0 in the best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series that continues at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Fiserv Forum. “A lot of times you jam a finger or this or that and you get a stinger on the elbow, and then it kind of wears off after 30 seconds. So I didn’t burn the timeout there because things were moving kind of fast and I couldn’t even understand what he was saying.
“I’ve had enough of those where it isn’t something, and you’re able to run down and guys say they’re OK. But clearly he was not.”
For the Heat, it removes their third-leading scorer and arguably most creative shot-maker from their mix.
“You can’t fully make up what Tyler has been for our team all year long,” said forward Jimmy Butler, who dominated Game 1 with 35 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and three steals. “But guys got to step up, including myself, including Bam [Adebayo] and whoever Spo calls upon to do an offensive assignment, a defensive assignment, to bring some energy, to dive on the floor, get a loose ball or rebound. It’s like all hands on deck at all times and now more than ever.”
Just as Herro gave up his body to dive for the loose ball that led to his injury, Adebayo said Herro, a native of the Milwaukee area, was as selfless after the injury in the locker room.
“I mean,” Adebayo said, “the biggest thing is he had a smile on his face and he wasn’t discouraged about what happened to him. You can tell he’s still all in to the team.”
And now the team has to be all in when it comes to replacing, if not exactly replicating Herro’s minutes.
“We’ll just figure it out,” Spoelstra said.
There are several options.
Duncan Robinson: The 3-point specialist who has been out of the rotation most of the season, started the second half in place of Herro. But after playing the opening 6:09 of the third quarter, as the Heat’s lead dwindled, he played only 17 more seconds, none in the fourth quarter. So a Wednesday start hardly is a given.
Victor Oladipo: While Oladipo thrived as a defensive option in the postseason during last year’s run to the Eastern Conference finals, the most creative scoring option off the Heat bench started just two games this season and did not play Sunday, even after Herro was injured. It remains to be seen if confidence from Spoelstra again is there.
Caleb Martin: Martin has played as a reserve since the late-February All-Star break but was solid in his 14:39 in Sunday’s second half, scoring 10 points over the final two periods on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the line. While more Martin wouldn’t necessarily compensate for the loss of Herro’s scoring, it would add a defensive upgrade to the mix.
Kyle Lowry: The 37-year-old veteran point guard solely has played off the bench since his March 11 return from a month off due to knee pain, pain that again became a factor during the play-in round. Sunday the impact was muted, with just two points in 18:30. But could there be more, something closer to the 33 points in the 32:36 he offered in the play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks? Lowry has played well the past two years alongside replacement starting point guard Gabe Vincent.
Kevin Love: No, not as a positional replacement for Herro, but the 34-year-old veteran power forward showed Sunday he is capable of helping to pick up some of the slack in the outside-shooting game lost with Herro’s absence, with Love 4 of 7 on 3-pointers in Game 1 against the Bucks.
Jimmy Butler: Or is it as simple as asking Butler to do even more, after he played 42:53 Sunday, including all but 1:14 in the second half? With two days off before Game 2 and then another two games off before Saturday’s Game 3 in Miami, it could be an answer in the short run, but likely not sustainable.
Simple solutions? No.
But alternatives that leave no other choice but to be explored.
“Tyler going down, obviously, that firepower that he brings to the table for us is tough for us,” Love said. “Many guys stepped up in his absence, but we’re going to need to find that scoring with him out.”
