It is hard to feel positive about Friday night’s loss to the Washington Wizards. The team was missing a whole host of players, and the Miami Heat still only lost by one point. That’s bad enough. What is worse is the string of injuries that preceded the game that were virtually unknown.
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Mario Chalmers missed the game due to his knee. His injury status is day-to-day, so it isn’t too bad. But the Heat are going to need Chalmers’s three-point shooting. Luol Deng sat out due to a right thigh contusion. He sustained the injury by taking a knee to his leg in the previous game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dwayne Wade sustained an injury to his hip, which was apparently unknown as it was not mentioned in the Heat press conference.
Can the Heat catch a break?
Apparently, the answer is no. The Heat have been struck by the injury bug all season and it has prevented them from achieving anything of substance this season. Chris Bosh is out for the rest of the season as a result of blood clots in his lungs, and has left a gaping hole in the Heat lineup.
If all of that wasn’t bad enough, Goran Dragic suffered a nasty fall in the second half against the Wizards, falling on what looked like his tailbone. The fall actually reminded me of the fall that T.J. Ford took in the beginning of his career, when he had to be taken out of the game on a stretcher and was unable to play the entirety of that next season. The injury was career-threatening.
I’m not suggesting that the fall that Dragic suffered was just like Ford’s fall, but it is still something to worry about, especially with the Heat needing to win games towards the end of the season in order to push into the playoffs, where they will need Dragic to score for them as much as possible.
Sir Charles In Charge
If history is any indication, Wade will be gassed by that time, and will be looking to make plays for others rather than score.
All of the injuries piling up is frustrating for a Miami fan base who knows that it should be seeing team at the very least contending for a championship. If the team were fully healthy, they would be able to contend in the Eastern Conference. Keep in mind, the Heat have already beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors and the Wizards.
And that was while injuries were causing key players to miss as well.
Instead, what Miami fans have had to deal with, is just frustration at the fact that luck has not been on Miami’s side. I can’t remember a team that has been devastated this much with injuries, and not the normal sorts, like Wade’s knees. They have dealt with freak accidents, like thigh contusions, blood clots and hamstring tears.
There is still a chance for Miami, if they are able to get healthy, but from the looks of things that seems like it won’t be happening.
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