The injuries the Miami Heat have had to deal with this season are unimaginable. Every team faces its fair share of health concerns but, for the Heat, it was non-stop. From Dwyane Wade continuously missing a handful of matchups, to Chris Bosh’s blood clots, to a freak accident involving Hassan Whiteside and a basketball rim, the headlines were countless. Last week, one minute all was well and the next Luol Deng and Michael Beasley were taken back to the locker room within minutes of one another; Deng for a knee contusion and Beasley for a bruised elbow.
For the boys in South Beach, it has been a never ending story.
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Obviously these setbacks have played a vital role in landing the Heat were they are now: tenth seed in the East. Having Bosh out on the year, and Wade constantly battling something is bad enough, but mix in everything else and it is hard to even imagine another fate for Miami.
But these injuries have done more to the Heat than just physically deter them; they have mentally blocked Miami as well. And that also goes for the players who have managed to stay healthy.
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Recently, guard Mario Chalmers expressed a feeling of being lost.
"“I don’t even really know what my role is on this team anymore,” Chalmers told the Miami Herald. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. A lot of people are out of rhythm, and you really don’t know what’s going to happen — when you’re going to get the ball, when you’re going to shoot it, you just never know. You just got to be ready for everything, I guess.”"
Chalmers himself may have been ready to go this entire season, but it is clear that his teammates’ injuries have affected him too. Physically he may not have any complaints, yet it is easy to see how frustrated he is, having to sit back and watch helplessly.
"“I don’t know,” Chalmers continued. “It’s something I’ve never experienced before. This is something new to a lot of people on this team, but we’ve got to make it work.”"
Unfortunately, it does not seem as though the Heat have been able to make it work. While Heat Nation has continued to support the team, as of right now, Miami is not making the playoffs.
With that said, reaching the postseason is not impossible. The Heat have five more games ahead of them. Four of them are at home. And their opponents include the likes of the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. They could still climb back into eighth, or even (though less likely) seventh place. But it all depends on their psyche.
Health-wise, things are not looking up. Rumor has it that Whiteside tore some of his stitches open on Sunday, when Miami lost to the Indiana Pacers. And Andersen is dealing with a bruised foot. Meanwhile, both Deng and Beasley are planning MRIs on their knees. Udonis Haslem is still dealing with the flu. And, well, you get the idea. However, what is worse than players potentially missing in action is having to emotionally come to terms with it all. Writing this paragraph has definitely left me in a darker place than I was a few minutes ago.
The role that injuries have played for the Heat goes beyond just physical limitations that have led to changes in rotation. Encountering mishap after mishap has left the team down and out.
"“We come into the locker room and you don’t know who’s going to be on the court with you,” Wade told the Sun Sentinel. “So that’s the one thing that’s been a little disappointing, that we haven’t had a majority of our guys — not even one or two guys, but like the majority of our guys — every game. That’s been the most disappointing thing. That’s the story of the 2014-2015 season. We’ll talk about it and hopefully move on past it in years to come. But that’s the story of this year.”"
Regardless of whatever ailments are left behind or are still left to come, the Heat need to stay positive. Fortunately, some players are still holding onto that attitude.
"“The teams that we’re playing against aren’t going to feel sorry for us.” Haslem stated. “We don’t got no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to go out here and we got to compete. The most important thing is we have to compete. It ain’t going to be about Xs and Os, misses and makes, we just got to compete, man…we find a way to win some games some times. So we continue to try to figure out ways to win.”"