Tyler Herro not close to returning, plus the Miami Heat’s simple plan to score on the Celtics

Despite speculation to the contrary, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro isn’t close to returning after fracturing his right hand in Miami’s first playoff game a month ago.

According to coach Erik Spoelstra, Herro isn’t yet shooting or dribbling, though he recently had the cast on his right hand removed. Asked if Herro might play in this series, Spoelstra didn’t have a concrete response but implied that Herro has been able to do some conditioning work.

“There’s no way I could even answer that right now,” Spoelstra said. “The good thing about a hand is you’re able to do other things with that, but you can’t shoot, you can’t dribble, that kind of stuff. I don’t have an update.

“He won’t be playing Wednesday [in Game 1]. Is that fair enough?”

When Herro underwent surgery on April 21, the Heat announced he was expected to miss a minimum of six weeks. That timetable would put his return no sooner than Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. When asked if his season was over, Herro remarked that he could be back for the NBA Finals.

Without Herro and Victor Oladipo (who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first round), the Heat have moved Max Strus to starting shooting guard and Kevin Love back to starting power forward. Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, Cody Zeller and Haywood Highsmith have been the team’s most reliable reserves.

But the Boston Celtics, Miami’s opponent in the Eastern Conference finals, are among the deepest teams in the league. Since last year’s conference finals matchup, the Celtics have added Malcolm Brogdon. The Heat have essentially swapped PJ Tucker with Love, but won’t have Herro or Oladipo because of injuries

“They’re a very deep team,” Love said of the Celtics. “Obviously, losing Vic, losing Tyler are guns we wish that we had.”

Love made the right decision

Asked about watching the 76ers blow a 3-2 lead to the Celtics in the semi-finals Love, who had chosen to sign with the Heat over the 76ers as a free agent in February, said he made the right choice.

“I’m a great decision-maker,” Love said, grinning. “This was always the first choice. And it always felt right. But it’s like going to a doctor and getting a second opinion. You always want to check all the boxes, understand what else is out there. But, again, this was always it for me.”

Miami’s plan to score against Boston

Monday’s practice was the first in which the Heat knew their Eastern Conference finals opponent. They won’t play Game 1 against the Celtics until Wednesday, but the early scout work is already getting downloaded.

Speaking to several players, the plan to score against Boston’s second-ranked, regular-season defense is obvious and simple: Make multiple passes, then make shots.

“The way you punish that is try to take advantage of the spacing,” Love said of playing against Boston’s double-big lineup. “I’m someone you can’t leave. Even if the ball is swung to me and I don’t like it and it’s not a crisp pass, I can pass it right to a shot with guys like Duncan, Gabe, Max, whoever it might be for a three ball.

Love watched Boston’s series against Philadelphia closely and noted how the Sixers’ offense had a tendency to bog down – something the Heat are trying to avoid.

“That ball movement and not getting stuck [is important],” Love said. “You saw Philly; the ball would get stuck. That’s how you take advantage of it. They’re a very good defensive team.”

Bam Adebayo noted that the Celtics are going to try to take the paint away from him and Jimmy Butler (who did not speak with reporters after practice).

“They’re definitely going to shrink the floor,” Adebayo said. “So, for us, it’s hitting the open man and a lot of ball movement.”

Once Adebayo and Butler find that open teammate, they need to make shots. After shooting 45% in their first-round series against the Bucks, the Heat shot 30% from distance against the Knicks. The Heat managed to beat the Knicks anyway, but know they need to nudge that percentage up against the superior team in the Celtics.

“I feel like we still haven’t shot the ball to the best that we know we can, that we’re capable of, and those games are coming,” Martin said. “[We’re] staying confident. We have a lot of belief in this group and we’re in the right place mentally.”