Chris Bosh Out For The Season

SATURDAY, 3:39pm: Bosh is officially out for the remainder of the season, the Heat announced in a press release. The team’s statement added, “Bosh, who is receiving care under the guidance of Miami Heat team physicians at a Baptist Health System Hospital, is currently resting comfortably. Chris is OK and his prognosis is good.”

5:08pm: The Heat are expected to announce that Bosh’s season is over, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald reports (Twitter link). However, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has stated that no decision regarding Bosh has been made yet, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “We’re still in the info collecting process. Anything right now is premature. We’ll know more as soon as we can,” Spoelstra said.

12:46pm: Bosh has blood clots in both lungs, Zwerling hears (Twitter link).

11:49am: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra cautioned that while the team is concerned, Bosh’s diagnosis isn’t final, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt relays.

9:49am: Bosh has a blood clot in one lung, according to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Heat team president Pat Riley understands that Bosh’s condition typically sidelines players for the season, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, who wrote earlier that it’s “difficult to envision” Bosh playing again this season.

FRIDAY, 8:19am: The Heat are worried that Chris Bosh has multiple blood clots on his lungs that would force him to miss the rest of the season, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Initial tests proved inclusive after Bosh was admitted to a Miami-area hospital Thursday, according to Goodman. The treatment for pulmonary embolus, or multiple clots, would involve blood thinners, which could keep the Heat’s star out for even longer than the balance of 2014/15, Goodman writes. The condition appears to have come on rather quickly for Bosh, who played just this past Sunday in the All-Star Game.

An absence of any significant length would be a devastating blow to the Heat, who are in a dogfight to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and on Thursday they acquired Goran Dragic in part to help that postseason push. The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception passed last month, so Miami couldn’t gain any additional salary flexibility if Bosh were to be ruled out for the season, though the team does already have a disabled player exception worth $2,652,500 for Josh McRoberts. That exception doesn’t expire until March 10th.

The Heat have a pair of open roster spots, though they’re reportedly set to sign Henry Walker to a 10-day contract. Center Kendrick Perkins seems headed for a buyout from the Jazz, while the Nuggets and Thomas Robinson have apparently already agreed to one, and the Heat reportedly showed interest in free agent Andray Blatche earlier this season. It’s unclear if Miami would pursue any of them at this point, and none would come close to the production of Bosh, who’s averaged 21.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Bosh, 30, is making $20.644MM in the first year of a five-year max contract. One NBA player is already being forced to miss the rest of this season with multiple blood clots in his lungs, as the condition struck Nets forward Mirza Teletovic last month.