“It’s like there’s a dark cloud over everything.”
That’s a fun quote from Chris Bosh, discussing the rash of injuries that have hammered the club this season. The Miami Heat (11-13) will be severely depleted tonight when they face the Brooklyn Nets but, to Bosh’s point, even the limited roster doesn’t seem to be the entire problem with Miami.
This season seemed doomed from opening night, with Josh McRoberts missing the start of the season to recover from offseason surgery. Even as the year began surprisingly well, more injuries – first Dwyane Wade, then Norris Cole, then McRoberts again – never allowed this team to gel into the unit that Pat Riley assembled this summer in the wake of LeBron James‘ departure.
Bosh, the team’s most reliable and best player, will sit out an indefinite amount of time due to a “wear and tear” calf injury. McRoberts will soon undergo knee surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
That’s less a dark cloud and more a total eclipse of the sun.
Wade will miss tonight’s game due to illness and Justin Hamilton – starting in Bosh’s place during Sunday’s ugly blowout loss to the Bulls – may be out with a quad injury, meaning Miami will take on Brooklyn missing three of their starters and once again juggling a rotation that has changed nearly every game. I’d expect Mario Chalmers to begin the game alongside Cole for the Heat, with Deng, Shawne Williams and Udonis Haslem filling out the rest of the starting unit.
Erik Spoelstra will have to bring in Shabazz Napier (recalled from Sioux Falls of the D-League on Monday) to help guide a bench that will include James Ennis, Danny Granger and the recently-returned Chris Andersen. Even Hassan Whiteside, back together with Napier, might get some minutes as well.
The Heat will take on an underachieving Nets(10-12) team that has also battled injury. They were missing Brook Lopez (back) and Kevin Garnett on Saturday when they crushed the Hornets, and at least Lopez is expected out on Tuesday. Brooklyn was led by Joe Johnson against Charlotte (22 points, including 4-of-6 from long distance) and Deron Williams (18 points). They’ll create mismatches with Miami’s starting backcourt and they could have another explosive night. Mason Plumlee will start at center and towers over Haslem, likely leading to another poor rebounding night for the Heat.
The key for Miami is to embrace a motto often used to rally Little League players: It’s not about winning or losing but about trying their hardest. While the hope is that Bosh returns quickly and keeps this team in playoff contention, there’s a sense that the team is simply done for the year. Perhaps it’s pessimism, but even assuming C.B. comes back, then Wade or Deng or Andersen – already barely creaking along at this point in their careers – might miss time as well. This team hasn’t had the will to win for much of this season and now, finally, they’ve got a roster to match.
Miami’s available players all have to improve dramatically in order to give the team any chance of success. It’s something to hope for but I wouldn’t count on it.
For now, it seems like that cloud hanging over the team and its fans will simply grow and get darker with every passing game.
The game begins at 7:30 p.m. EST from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Check back with All U Can Heat for a recap, grades and analysis.