The Miami Heat played well enough to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but possibly could have advanced even further to play against ex-teammate LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals had Chris Bosh been healthy enough.
There were plenty of conflicting reports regarding Bosh, whether he would suit up, the possibility of playing if the Heat advanced to the next round, and if he was practically retired on the spot to never play again, due to reoccurring blot clots.
Bosh remained quiet to the media regarding his situation, and there were even rumblings of the Heat keeping Bosh out to collect a portion of their salary cap back if he missed the minimum amount of games stated in his contract. That would have summoned Bosh’s insurance to pay a large portion of his salary, so the Heat would be off the hook.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald revealed more insight some of the back and forth reports that came out, as to what was happening behind the scenes, and why Bosh remained out for the season.
“According to a team source, the Bosh camp spent considerable time exploring the idea of Bosh continuing to take those blood thinners, but at a time of day (such as early morning) that the medication would be out of his bloodstream by game time.
Someone with knowledge of the situation said blood tests indicated the medication was out of Bosh’s system after 8 to 12 hours, which would significantly lessen the risk for Bosh playing. But the Heat and team doctors rejected that idea.”
None of Bosh's doctors were willing to comment on the situation, but an expert in the field did suggest that “there's too much at risk” to try the aforementioned strategy.
We can all agree that blood clots are a very serious thing: they can cause death as quickly as you can say blood clot. The Miami Heat felt if blood thinners were the only option, it was not worth the risk of possibly losing Bosh’s life on the basketball court, and afterwards take responsibility for something that could have been completely prevented.
In Bosh’s camp, they felt the medication was enough if timed just right to work with his body and playing times because Bosh was willing to do whatever it took to get back on the basketball court.
We’ve seen an incident in the past, where the Boston Celtics guard Reggie Lewis collapsed on the court while playing with a heart condition. Lewis passed after he was cleared to play “with no limitations” by a heart physician after a previous collapse during a playoff game in April 1993.
The Heat certainly don’t want to take that chance, nor do they care to risk the life of a player they consider family.
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