For the first time this preseason, the Miami Heat will have their entire starting five healthy and available Saturday night when they travel to Texas and face off against the Houston Rockets.
Hassan Whiteside missed the previous four games due to a calf injury, but was finally able to fully participate in practice Thursday, and is expected to start against the Rockets.
For the Heat, timing and health have not been their friends. Before Bosh went down with a pulmonary embolism, Whiteside was not a huge contributor to this team, and as soon as the Heat traded for Goran Dragic, Bosh’s season ended. Just when we finally had a chance to see the whole crew together this preseason, Whiteside suffered a calf injury, which once again postponed the debut of this new starting five.
The wait is now over. Tomorrow, Heat fans will finally get a chance to watch Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside in action for the first time ever. The team has a lot of potential, but they must build chemistry if they want any chance to earn a top-four seed.
The talent is here, but in the NBA, chemistry is key. Remember when the Knicks were the team to beat in the East with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler? They never really panned out, for several reasons, but the chemistry, or lack thereof, between Stoudemire and Anthony was the key factor.
The Heat will test out their starting five on the Rockets, who have chemistry questions of their own to solve. The addition of Ty Lawson was mostly met with applause this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine Lawson meshing well with ball-dominating James Harden. Both players are best with the ball in their hands, which could spell disaster if both Harden and Lawson aren’t willing to adjust and make sacrifices.
However, the Rockets were without Harden, Lawson, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza Thursday night versus the Golden State Warriors, and there are no reports yet on the possibility of these players being available for Saturday. It would be nice to see a full-strength Rockets team, but for Heat fans, the idea of a healthy starting five of their own should be enough to check this game out.