Tyler Herro’s return to the court remains a waiting game as the Heat keep winning

MIAMI: Since breaking his hand in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro has been relegated to offering his teammates support in conspicuously gaudy outfits — topics of much conversation — from the sidelines.

The Heat would much rather have their 20-point scorer on the court. But, his return is still pending, and though Miami are holding out hope that Herro could play basketball again this season, he is running out of time and games.

The NBA Finals head to Miami on Wednesday with the series against the Denver Nuggets tied 1-1. Miami’s Eric Spoelstra said Herro was to do a full-contact workout Tuesday, but the veteran coach remained noncommittal on the player’s possible return. Herro hasn’t yet been cleared to play.

“I don’t want to be Nostradamus right now. We’re taking it one day at a time,” Spoelstra said. “I know that sounds like a cliché. He did the practice with the group ... we’ll meet with the training staff later on today and probably tomorrow, and we’ll just continue this process. He has not been cleared yet, so that’s where we are, but we’re encouraged by the work that he’s been doing.”

Herro was diving for a loose ball late in the second quarter of the Eastern Conference playoff opener against the Milwaukee Bucks when the injury to his right hand occurred. He re-entered the game, but was leaning forward in obvious pain in front of Miami’s bench in the final minute of the first half.

“I feel like I had some things to prove this postseason,” Herro said in April. “It was a tough moment. I still can’t believe it.”

He had surgery on April 21 for the fracture, with a four-to-six week recovery timetable, making a finals return possible.

“He’s another guy that provides so much