NBA Finals quick hits: Herro update, Martin talk, Love choice, Butler on Heat marriage

Quick hits from NBA Finals media day on Wednesday:

▪ Heat guard Tyler Herro, who has been sidelined since the playoff opener with a fractured right hand, won’t play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday (8:30 p.m., ABC).

Herro hasn’t yet gone through contact work, a necessary step before the Heat would consider playing him in a game. He said he hopes to play during the series.

“He’s still just starting this process,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have a few days here to continue his work. I can’t make any proclamation until he makes these next important steps of contact and doing more on the court live. We’re all encouraged by his progress but still want to continue to be responsible and make the best decisions.”

▪ Caleb Martin, coming off an exceptional Eastern Conference finals, has been flooded with congratulations but doesn’t want to get too caught up in the adulation.

“These are the times I stay away from social media. Four games away from being a champion, this is the most important time to stay locked in and stay focused. I’m very grateful and appreciative that guys are saying I made a name for myself. It’s one thing to do it for a series; it’s another thing to stay consistent.”

▪ Spoelstra left open the possibility of playing Kevin Love or Cody Zeller in this series after not using either in Game 7 against Boston.

Love was a DNP-CD (did not play/coach’s decision) the last two games of the Boston series — his first DNP-CD designations since joining the Heat in mid-February.

Love said Wednesday that he understood Spoelstra’s decision to replace him with Martin in the starting lineup in Games 6 and 7.

“It made perfect sense to me honestly,” Love said. “I was eager and wanted to play and kept myself ready. But those matchups, how they took Robert Williams out of the starting lineup and decided to go small, that’s… how it works in the playoffs. I felt I made my impact in two games and maybe one quarter.”

▪ Jimmy Butler called his partnership with the Heat “a match made in heaven.”

“I’m not perfect but I’m me,” he said. “My style of leadership works here. More than anything I have to give a shout out to D-Wade [Dwyane Wade]. He always told me this culture fits who I am and how I go about things… I love it here and I hope to be here.”

▪ Denver All Star center Nikola Jokic said one of the Heat’s biggest strengths is how it goes in and out of zone defense: “They’re messing the game in their favor. That’s why they’re in the Finals. They’re messing the game.”

▪ Butler, asked how he has gotten teammates to believe, said: “I’m never rattled, very calm, very consistent in everything I do. When my guys look at that, they follow suit in every way, and I love that about them. They’re never shook. We enjoy when each other plays well. We’re never going to get rattled.”

▪ Spoelstra said the Heat and Nuggets built something of a rapport when the season resumed in the Disney bubble in 2020. The Heat made the Finals that year; Denver lost to the Lakers in the Western finals.

“We didn’t necessarily hang out with them in the bubble but competitors recognize competitors,” Spoelstra said. “Staffs would bump into each other out on the lake. We were fishing out there, and we were the two organizations doing it. They’re good people. They have an edge. That edge will be there for both sides.”

▪ Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, on the importance of keeping Butler off the foul line: “He’s going to throw his body at you. He’s going to fall on the floor. You’ve got to stay solid and be as legal as possible.”

▪ The Heat announced it will play preseason home games Oct. 10 against Charlotte, Oct. 15 against Memphis and Oct. 18 vs Brooklyn.

▪ There will be two TV live presentations of Game 1: A standard broadcast on ABC, and an ESPN2 version with Stephen A. Smith and guests discussing the game as it happens... Bally Sports Sun will have live postgame shows. So will NBA TV, with Charles Barkley appearing before and after Games 1 and 2 on NBA TV’s coverage.