The Miami Heat had perhaps their biggest win of the season on Sunday, as they defeated the Chicago Bulls 96-84 behind a Hassan Whiteside triple double and 26 points from Dwyane Wade.
However, just two days later against the Milwaukee Bucks, all the positive momentum gained against the Bulls would come to a screeching halt. Wade suffered a right hamstring injury during the contest, an injury that Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is reporting will sideline the Heat star for “an extended period of time.”
Any team in the NBA would be in trouble after a losing a talent of Wade’s caliber, but the Heat are especially ill-prepared to deal with such an injury.
Miami doesn’t have a legitimate backup shooting guard.
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It was the Heat’s biggest roster deficiency entering the season, one that was almost unfathomable for the team to have given Wade’s long injury history. It’s even more unfathomable that Miami hasn’t addressed it to this point.
And now, the Heat will pay the price for leaving that enormous roster hole open. Miami’s shooting guard choices right now are Mario Chalmers, James Ennis and Tyler Johnson.
That hasn’t been good enough for Miami when these players were strictly being used as backups, which really tells the tale of just how bad of a predicament the Heat are in right now.
More than ever before, Miami has to trade for a shooting guard. They’ve let the problem fester long enough and it’s time for the Heat to make a move as the trade deadline rapidly approaches.
While the Heat don’t have a lot of trading chips, it appears there is some league wide-interest in Norris Cole (both the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets are reportedly interested). Getting rid of Cole is a smart move in and of itself — he’s simply not a good offensive player, which, you know, matters — but dealing for a shooting guard is a no-brainer.
Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick recently suggested a Cole for Gary Neal swap that would make a lot of sense for Miami, even though Neal is having a down season.
Not reporting this, but just musing: Norris Cole & Gary Neal are close in salary & a swap would solve a problem for each team.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) January 26, 2015
Or the Heat could try and pull off something bigger with Charlotte — perhaps Cole, Josh McRoberts and James Ennis for Lance Stephenson.
The Heat have to do something. Anything.
Now, the Heat might be able to hang onto a playoff spot during Wade’s absence even if they don’t make a trade. But that’s simply a product of how bad the Eastern Conference is. If the Heat are to have any shot at turning their season around and possibly making some noise in the playoffs, a trade for a 2 is a must.
With the trade deadline not far off, the clock is ticking.