Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was available to play in the NBA Finals for the first time since he broke his right hand on April 16 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs.
But he never got into the game, with Erik Spoelstra holding Herro out of Miami's season-ending 94-89 Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
Spoelstra called it a tough decision to sit the sharp-shooting Herro.
"It's just a really tough call and I'll probably have to wrestle with that all summer," he said after the game. "I've never been in an experience like this. I just know that the way this game was played is totally different than -- you can't even compare it. It's another sport in the regular season. But first round, this is totally different, the way this game was played. Second round, totally different. Even the conference finals, the physicality and the way that they play, and I think they should have. This is what it should be about, is let the players decide.
"But that's the hardest-played, most physical competition you can have, and that would be a tough thing for a guy that's been out for two months that hasn't had any kind of ramp up. But that won't save me from thinking about that for the next few weeks."
Herro was still experiencing a level of discomfort in the surgically repaired hand, sources had told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Herro had been the Heat's second-leading scorer this season, averaging 20.1 points while converting on 203 3-pointers in the regular season.