MIAMI — Chris Bosh‘s season is now officially over, regardless of how far the Miami Heat advance in this post-season.
The Heat and Bosh made the announcement Wednesday afternoon after the team practiced in Toronto, ending rampant speculation in recent days that Bosh would try to return to the court during the playoffs.
Bosh has not played since the All-Star break after a blood clot was discovered in his left leg. It’s the second consecutive year that Bosh’s season ended at the break because of problems with clotting, and the joint statement came one day after the National Basketball Players Association urged Bosh and the team to resolve any issues they have about his immediate future.
Bosh is expected to remain with the team throughout the remainder of the playoffs — helping his teammates however he can. And while the statement finally provides resolution on his short-term status, it remains unknown if he has dealt with any other clots or if he remains on blood thinners.
"It’s not a distraction at all," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said in Toronto on Wednesday, before the statement came out. "It’s not our focus. This has been going on since February. All we know is that he’s taking care of himself, health-wise, and that’s all we care about. Anything else is out of our control and there’s no reason for us to worry about it."
Bosh was averaging a team-best 19.1 points at the break, when the clot was found after he arrived in Toronto — his first NBA city — for the All-Star weekend. He went through the All-Star media day rigours on Friday of that weekend knowing he couldn’t play in the game, and initially the reason cited was a calf strain.
Days later, it became known that it was much worse. And when the team began its post-All-Star schedule in Atlanta, coach Erik Spoelstra said players addressed what they would miss about Bosh not being available to play.
"We talked about what we are going to miss the most about CB and it wasn’t end of possession, throw it to him and he can get you a shot or defensive rotations," Spoelstra said Wednesday. "It was his leadership and his voice. Now he’s around the team, he still provides that, and it’s a powerful thing. CB is a great leader in this league."
Even after Wednesday’s statement, there are plenty of unanswered questions when it comes to Bosh’s health.
Has the highest-paid Heat player, someone with three years and about $77 million left on his deal, had more clots than he’s revealed? Have others formed since the one was found in February? Does he have any now? Did he attempt to play through them this season? Is he still on blood thinners? Have any doctors told him that he should not continue playing basketball?
If the Heat know any of those answers, they’re not saying. And in this case, their silence may speak volumes.
It’s not a privacy violation for a team to reveal that a player sprained an ankle or twisted a knee. But per the collective bargaining agreement, when it comes to "potentially life- or career-threatening" matters, a team cannot say anything without consent of the player or his family.
On the Heat injury report, the reason for Bosh’s absence is blank. If he had a common injury, it would be listed.
"Sometimes the blood can get too thin and if you take a charge and hit your head, then you get a serious complication," Dr. T.O. Souryal, the former Dallas Mavericks team physician, told Sirius NBA Radio earlier Wednesday. "So we don’t let people on blood thinners play in football for example or any other collision sport for that exact reason. … And if you don’t have enough blood thinning, then you’re worried about the blood clot. It’s a really delicate matter."
