NBA Miami Heat

All-Star Break A Blessing In Disguise For Miami Heat

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By @blackirishpr

Chris Bosh Dwyane Wade

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With no Chris Bosh for the first reunion and no Dwyane Wade for the second, at the rate things are going LeBron James will not be around for the third Cleveland Cavaliers-Miami Heat matchup. This may be the usual case of the sequel never being as good as the original, because not even the original had the entire cast of main characters.

That would be an accurate way to describe what has been an injury-plagued 2014-15 Heat season that has seen them use at least 19 different starting lineups. The interesting part is that for as poor as their 22-30 record is, the team will probably be in the best physical position that they have been since training camp.

Now I know that may sound a bit off for a squad that is tied for eighth place and one of only two teams under .500 in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but commissioner Adam Silver’s newly implemented full week of All-Star rest allows the Heat to finally be healthy. The only player missing would be the same player (Josh McRoberts) whose injury had him down throughout the summer.

More importantly the break comes as a blessing because Miami will be seeing the return of Wade’s 21.4 points and five assists per game after another seven game stint on the bench with an injured hamstring. Hassan Whiteside will also finally be able to get his bad ankle right so that he can get back to blocking shots.

Not to mention forwards James Ennis and Shawne Williams will be back from sickness and a hip injury, so the team should have a quick chance to see what they have — relatively whole — before the Feb. 19 trade deadline. Hopefully it’s a positive look forward at what Whiteside calls “the real Miami Heat.”

Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.

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