The Miami Heat have won four of their last five games and have put themselves in position to get the number three seed in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Boston Celtics in their regular season finale on Wednesday. Regardless of where they are seeded the Heat will enter the playoffs playing very good basketball and are a sleeper in many people's minds.
Some have thought that the Heat's potential playoff success hinged on the health of Chris Bosh, and while having him back would be great, that doesn't seem likely to happen. Even without Bosh, though, this team is still dangerous.
People forget that Bosh isn't the only key contributor from earlier in the year that is missing, as guard Tyler Johnson hasn't played since the end of January. Johnson had surgery on his shoulder earlier in the year but was hopeful that he would be able to return. Johnson has continued to remain hopeful, but he is running out of time and not making enough progress.
Johnson started shooting at the end of March, but after doing so he admitted that his shoulder got tired very quickly. At one point Johnson stated that there was a 70 percent chance he would be back before the end of the regular season. Now, though, he will likely miss the start of the playoffs because he hasn't been able to get in a full workout yet.
Before undergoing surgery, the former Fresno State star was having a nice season for the Heat. In 36 games Johnson averaged 8.7 points per game while making 49 percent of his field goals and a team-high 38 percent of his threes. At the time Johnson got hurt it seemed like a devastating blow because head coach Erik Spoelstra and company were relying a lot on him and he was one of very few three-point threats they had on their roster.
Now the Heat have added Joe Johnson and Dorell Wright, while Josh Richardson, who has effectively picked up Johnson's role, has played outstanding basketball and is shooting 48 (!) percent from three on 111 attempts. The Heat's lack of perimeter shooting was once seen as a flaw that would keep them from making noise in the playoffs, but that is not the case anymore even without Bosh and Johnson. For that reason, the Heat don't have to rush Johnson back from his shoulder injury considering he may not have much of a role anyway.
