Is Miami and LeBron facing Heat exhaustion?

Is Miami and LeBron facing Heat exhaustion?

Howard Simmons/New York Daily News

LeBron James and the Miami Heat could be out of gas for the long playoff run.

ATLANTA - The NBA playoffs start in six days, and the Bulls have to be worried to death that Derrick Rose wont be able to hold up over the long postseason haul. The reigning MVP has missed 27 games with five different injuries and is still nursing a foot ailment that KOd him from the Bulls loss to Miami on Thursday.

But the Heat also has to be scared as it ends the condensed, 66-game lockout season that has been one big war of attrition for many teams and its superstars.

LeBron James, who continues to log major minutes, went into the weekend having missed only one game. In a season when it seems that all the big stars have been sidelined for at least a few games, James has been as indestructible as any player to come down the pike, even with the ridiculous schedule that often has had him playing five games in seven days.

Every season going into the playoffs Ive had an opportunity to get a game or two (off) at the end of the season, James said before Miami held the Rose-less Bulls to their lowest point total of the season (72) and pulled to within a game and a half of the top spot in the East. (This week) Ill see where the standings are and then go from there. I would love to get maybe one, maybe two games, just to kind of rest and get ready for the postseason.

Even if James does get rest, the Heats decision to play him extended minutes and not give him substantial rest could come back to haunt Erik Spoelstras team. Last June, there was no question that there were times against Dallas when James simply refused to try to take over late in the fourth quarter of several games. But there was also a strong suspicion that he had run out of gas in some big moments.

That might have gone back to Spoelstras strategy of following up a grueling regular season by always having him out on the court, especially in the second half against Boston in the second round and Chicago in the East finals.

After James, Miami has to be concerned with what Dwyane Wade can give them in the playoffs. He has missed 14 games this season, including four recently in a seven-game stretch with what was described as an ankle injury, but actually might be a case of dead legs.

Against Memphis earlier this month, Wade went on a breakaway for a dunk, tried to elevate and got blocked by the rim. Wades inability to explode as he usually does was noticeable to fans and scouts, one of whom exclaimed, Did you jus t see that?

Afterward, Wade admitted the season has taken its toll.