Thirty-four minutes.
That’s the total amount of time that the preferred starting lineup for the Miami Heat — consisting of Norris Cole, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh — actually played together this season.
And, following the news that McRoberts will likely have season-ending knee surgery sometime soon, that’s all they’ll get a chance to play in this year of missed opportunity.
The July 11 announcement that LeBron James would not re-sign with Miami was devastating, laying waste to the established core that would possibly make a fifth straight appearance in the NBA Finals and contend for championships for years to come.
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The Heat, to their credit, were able to bring back Bosh and Wade along with Deng and McRoberts to form an intriguing mix of versatility, athleticism and varied skills that could possibly propel the team into the postseason where anything could happen.
Maybe it was far-fetched but there was, at least, hope and in the Eastern Conference where every team has obvious weaknesses, Miami’s new unit could have gelled into a force greater than the sum of its parts.
There was evidence of this when the expected starting unit shared the floor, albeit in a small sample size of just over half an hour.
The unit projected to an average of 127 points per 100 possessions, a plus/minus rating of +13 and finished with a field goal percentage of 59 percent.
Evidence. Hope.
But the Heat were doomed from the start when McRoberts missed the entire preseason and the start of the regular season to recover from foot surgery before training camp began. Wade would miss a long stretch for a hamstring injury, just as Miami had established a 5-2 start (again, it’s the East, after all).
Deng and Cole missed time, as well. And just when McRoberts was rounding in to form, he hurt his knees — on a typical hustling play, when the forward fell to the floor to chase a rebound — and will have to find a way to bounce back next season.
Bosh, too, will have to sit out a few upcoming games, nursing a sore calf that forced him out of a blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. That game, where Miami managed to score a woeful 75 points on just 35 percent shooting, might just be the more accurate sign of what’s to come.
The Heat aren’t without options, not completely anyway. They might be able to apply for a disabled player exemption, giving them a little money to acquire an additional player via free agent signing, trade or waiver claim.
But there doesn’t seem much of a chance that anyone available at this time will be able to reproduce McRoberts’ versatility, nor (in the short term) the 48 percent shooting, 22 points and eight rebounds of Bosh.
They’ve already made room from some youth and long-term projects, notably Shabazz Napier and Hassan Whiteside. After a one-game stint with the Heat’s D-League affiliate, they’re back with Miami for the foreseeable future.
It’s only a matter of time before they bring up Andre Dawkins, the rookie sharpshooter out of Duke, to give him some much-needed experience at the NBA level.
Miami will never tank a season, nor claim that they’ll do anything less than strive for the postseason. There’s simply too much pride and just enough talent to accept failure outright.
But after displaying numerous weaknesses, particularly on the defensive end, when their situation wasn’t so grim, it’s obvious this team isn’t competing for anything barring a major miracle.
Next year’s draft doesn’t offer any hope, either. Having elite talents like Bosh and Wade, as well as consummate professionals like Deng, practically guarantee that Miami will be mediocre instead of outright terrible and their 2015 draft pick is owed to the Cleveland Cavaliers (sent via trade in 2010 to acquire James in the first place, perhaps the worst bit of irony in franchise history).
Only a total collapse offers any hope, as the pick is lottery-protected.
Unfortunately, Miami figures to be more middle-of-the-pack and just beyond reach of selecting a franchise savior.
Perhaps, the franchise was simply due a rash of bad luck after so much success over the last four years. Maybe it was hubris, never expecting James and the good times he brought to end so quickly. Either way, the present seems truly dire and it’s to the future they have to look.
They could get a little lucky and find unexpected success this season, or conversely, fail and find themselves as major players in the draft. It’s something to look forward to and to give the team and its fans hope once again.