Heat react to Bosh news
Finality of star big man’s dashed playoff hopes hits home for teammates
Right now he just wants to make sure he’s not a distraction for our team.” Dwyane Wade on Chris Bosh
TORONTO— The emotions that a team-released statement could not convey were articulated Thursday, amid the finality that Chris Bosh will not take the court for the Miami Heat during these NBA playoffs.
“For Chris, it’s so tough,” forward Luol Deng said, with Bosh out since February after a recurrence of blood clotting. “I said it: Since the beginning of the year, since the summer, he’s the guy who was calling everybody and getting everyone to get together and work out. He saw us going deep in the playoffs, earlier, before anybody. And coming into training camp, he was staying behind, hewas always early.
“So I know how much he wants to play and how much it means to him. And just from a friend’s standpoint, I feel bad for him. As a teammate, I wish he was out there with us. It’s always tough when you’ve got to sit on the sideline, no matter what the reason is, and watch your teammates out there.”
The Heat issued a statement in conjunction with Bosh on Wednesday that read: “The Miami Heat and Chris Bosh announce that Chris will not be playing in the remainder of the 2016 NBA playoffs. The Heat, Chris, the doctors and medical team have been working together throughout this process and will continue to do so to return Chris to playing basketball as soon as possible.”
That left Thursday’s shootaround, in advance of Game 2 of this best-ofseven Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series against the Toronto Raptors, as the first opportunity for coaches and teammates to address the definitiveness of the statement.
“We’ve had clarification, but we just put the storyline at ease out there,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after the morning shootaround at Air Canada Centre. “Look, I love Chris. Everybody knows how I feel about C.B. I feel for him not being able to participate in the playoffs right now. But he is still very much a big part of this.”
Bosh has traveled with the Heat throughout these playoffs, taking a place on the bench during games, as well as motivating and guiding teammates in the locker room. He has not been in uniform since Feb. 9.
“It’s never easy,” said Udonis Haslem, who along with Bosh and Dwyane Wade is a Heat tri-captain. “Obviously, Chris is like a brother to me. We’ve been though a lot together. So you always hope for the best, the whole family to be on the floor, going side-by-side with you, battling with you every night.
“But there’s just another plan, for some reason. For me, I just have to be supportive of Chris, keep him encouraged and get him ready for next year.”
With Bosh declining comment throughout his absence, it has left teammates as the only conduit for updates. Wade said Thursday that the release of the statement Wednesday alleviates that burden.
“Obviously, it’s something they felt theywanted to do, just to focus on the playoffs and not have a lot of stories out there about what-ifs, focus on the team that’s on the basketball court,” he said. “Obviously, as a teammate, it’s not the news that you would love to hear. But, at the same time, we’re not focusing on that news, either.
“He’s moving forward. But the biggest thing is he’s just focused on his health, which is perfectly fine. Right now he just wants to make sure he’s not a distraction for our team. His job right now is to help us in his leadership capacity.”
The statement on Bosh left the door open for an eventual return. It is a door that Wade confirmed Bosh is pursuing.
“Still, behind the scenes,” Wade said, “he’s still making sure that he’s doing everything he can do possibly to play the game of basketball that he loves.”