Injury woes pile up for Miami Heat as Bosh is sidelined

MIAMI, USA – All-Star center Chris Bosh will be sidelined indefinitely with a strained calf, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday, December 16 dealing another injury blow to the NBA team.

Bosh, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, felt tightness in his left calf after the Heat’s victory in Utah on Saturday, and was kept out of Sunday’s defeat at home against the Chicago Bulls.

“He’s still sore,” Spoelstra said of Bosh. “It’s rest and treatment for him in the immediate future.”

The team said Bosh wouldn’t travel to Brooklyn for their next game on Tuesday, additionally, Josh McRoberts has a torn meniscus in his right knee that will require surgery and could see him miss the rest of the season.

McRoberts was injured in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s win at Phoenix last Tuesday, falling awkwardly as he pursued a loose ball.

It was just the latest injury for McRoberts, who signed a four-year, $23 million deal with Miami in July.

“This is not a short-term thing,” Spoelstra said of McRoberts’ injury. “He’ll be out a while if he even does make it back this season.”

Bosh was limited in Monday’s practice to free-throw shooting. Dwyane Wade didn’t practice at all because of a stomach virus and his status for Tuesday’s game was uncertain, although the team said he would make the trip to Brooklyn.

The Heat, who saw four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James depart in the offseason for Cleveland after a four-year stint in Miami yielded two NBA titles, are off to a lacklustre 11-13 start.

After the game in Brooklyn they enjoy a seven game streak at home that includes a marquee Christmas Day clash with James and the Cavaliers.

Amid a litany of injuries Spoelstra has had to field an assortment of starting lineups in the first 24 games of the season.

Spoelstra, who had just eight players available to practice on Monday, admitted it was frustrating, but said it was important to fight any feeling of self-pity.

“It was a kick to the gut when we heard about Josh this morning,” Spoelstra said.

“You feel for him more than anything else because he wanted to come in here and contribute. Ironically his best game was the Phoenix game.”

Earlier Monday, the Heat recalled guard Shabazz Napier and center Hassan Whiteside from their NBA Development League affiliate the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

And Spoelstra vowed his team would emerge from their current troubles stronger.

“Injuries are a part of this game,” he said.

“How you respond to adversities, respond to things that are tough, that’s what really reveals your collective character as a group.

“I told the guys this afternoon, there will be brighter days.” – Rappler.com