Miami Heat’s Loss to Philadelphia 76ers Cries Out for Josh Smith
By Shane Phillips
@ShaneRantSports
Getty Images
Ravaged by injuries and plagued by the abandonment of the NBA’s greatest player, the Miami Heat found themselves at home against the league’s worst club with top man Chris Bosh in street clothes. The power forward missed his sixth-straight game due to a calf injury and there may be more bad news to come for Heat fans. However, Miami was able to pull off a double-digit victory over the Boston Celtics without Bosh or Dwyane Wade. So, with Wade back in the lineup, the Philadelphia 76ers should be an easy victory before the big Christmas showdown.
It seemed that the Heat had that “easy win” mindset because it was a letdown as they squandered a fourth-quarter lead and lost to Philly, 91-87. The loss comes just days before Miami hosts LeBron James and only hours after news was revealed that Pat Riley threw his hat into the pool for Josh Smith. With Josh McRoberts out for the season and Bosh’s return unknown, Smith is deeply needed.
Smith has drawn plenty attention from across the league including from the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, but the Heat are in desperate need of a roster improvement. Unfortunately, the odds that Miami gets Smith for Christmas day, if at all, are not good and with Bosh mostly likely to miss his seventh-straight game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, James will probably get the first laugh.
Thankfully, the Heat still have three more matchups with the Cavs after Christmas, but if Riley does not complete some type of transaction and improve the roster, all regular-season games between the two teams may just end like I am predicting for Christmas: a blowout. Christmas day may be a lost cause, but the season isn’t and Smith could potentially propel Miami to the top four in the East.
Shane Phillips is an NBA Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Shane on Twitter @ShaneRantSports, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also email Shane at [email protected].
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