The Miami Heat are fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but injuries could hurt the effort with just over 21 games left to play in the regular season. The Heat are certainly not having the season they had hoped after the departure of LeBron James as they just signed a batch of players to 10-day contracts. The team is certainly not making excuses as the postseason remains the goal while the Boston Celtics are on the rise and look to beat the Heat for the final spots in the playoffs.
Miami brought back Michael Beasley on a 10-day deal after Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts were ruled out for the season. However, those are not the only injuries hitting the roster. Luol Deng, Goran Dragc, Hassan Whiteside, Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade are all dealing with lingering issues holding the Heat back. Almost everyone is listed as a game-time decision which is hurting consistency for the team.
In the past two games, the Heat have had just nine players active. However, they are still competing. They came back from a 35-point deficit on Friday, before losing 99-97 to the Washington Wizards. They did get a 114-109 overtime win against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday to help give them some momentum heading into the game against the Cetlics.
Wade is expected to play against Boston. He returned to the lineup Saturday and put up 28 points while the Heat shot 51.3 percent overall. Tyler Johnson was next with 24 points getting the game-winning 3-point shot as well. Having won three of their last four games, the Heat are currently tied for the eighth spot in the East as the Boston Celtics are also in the mix.
Boston has shown improvement over the last couple of weeks, but struggled against the Magic Sunday, blowing a 20-point lead. The team has shot 40 percent or less in their last four out of five games, but is hoping to get back to winning before the playoffs slip out of reach. Isaiah Thomas is proving to be a strong acquisition as he is averaging 21.0 points in his last nine games since getting traded from Phoenix.
The Celtics sit in 10th place in the East, but only trail Miami and Indiana by 2 ½ games. Every matchup is important from here on out as Boston has the confidence to see the postseason.
Watch Celtics vs. Miami live stream, click here.
