Will Chris Bosh Play in the Eastern Conference Finals?

The Miami Heat have missed the presence of Chris Bosh since he was injured in early in the series with the Indiana Pacers. After the injury, Miami said that Bosh would be 'out indefinitely. They defeated Indiana in six games, but 90% of their plays were isolation plays with either Lebron James or Dwyane Wade taking it to the rim. Bosh gives the Heat a third option and frees up James and Wade out of double teams.

They are still unsure when he would be back. A timetable is hard to set for a lower abdominal/high groin injury. A player could come back in as early as two weeks or need to sit out a maximum six to eight weeks.

When will Bosh be back for the Heat? Will it be in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics or could he be out for the remainder of the 2012 NBA Playoffs?

ESPN reported that Bosh participated in an on-court workout at American Airlines Arena on Sunday. Assistant coach Keith Askins ran Bosh's workout over the seeing eye of team president Pat Riley. He worked on his lateral movement, shot some free-throws, and did some catch and shoot footwork. It was reported to be an extremely light workout, but it is a sign that he could be back sometime in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra commented to the media that he is preparing the team to play without Bosh. He is taking each game one at a time and if Bosh is ready to play, he will adjust his game plan.

Miami needs Bosh to play as soon as possible. They don't want to rush him and gamble a setback, but they were only 1-3 against Boston this year. Boston likes to play small, but would benefit by playing bigger against a Bosh-less Heat. Kevin Garnett has been playing center and are a much better team since making that change. They will be without Avery Bradley for the rest of the post-season because of a small tear in his shoulder. He is one of the best defender on the team and Ray Allen will have to step up on defense.

My prediction is that Miami will play the first few games without Bosh. If they win two out of the first three games, the Heat will wait after Game 4 to make a decision to bring him back for Game 5. If Miami is 3-1 after that game, Bosh will sit...if Boston ties up the series, he'll be back for the next game. I think Game 5 is the earliest that you will see him back on the court.

The Heat would need Bosh in the NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are big and play great interior defense. They will not be able to beat either of those teams with him.