MIAMI (AP) -When reigning NBA finals MVP Dwyane Wade returned from the injury that threatened his season, the Miami Heat hoped everything would fall neatly into place for another championship run.
Well, Wade’s back from his dislocated left shoulder, and the Heat still seem to be on the cusp of turmoil.
Miami’s season took another nasty turn Monday morning, when forward James Posey was arrested in Miami Beach on a DUI charge – less than six hours before the Heat were supposed to report for the day’s practice. Posey’s status is unclear, but his situation just adds to the litany of issues facing Miami with the playoffs less than two weeks away.
“We just have to weather the storms and bounce back,” Heat center Shaquille O’Neal said. “There’s still enough time to get it going. I’ve been in the league 15 years and I’ve been through and I’ve seen all the situations. Nothing can break me. I’ve seen it all. Been here before.”
Posey issued an apology Monday night through the team, denying the charges.
“Please know that I was neither intoxicated nor was I driving at the time,” Posey said. “However, out of respect to the police, and to the legal process which must follow, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this moment.”
Posey bonded out of Miami-Dade County jail at about the same time Miami was finishing practice. It’s not known if he’ll accompany the team to Charlotte on Tuesday morning for a game against the Bobcats that night.
Either way, there will be a few empty seats on Miami’s charter plane.
– O’Neal’s not going. He’ll be in Newark, N.J. for his paternal grandfather’s funeral service and intends to rejoin the Heat for Wednesday’s home game against Washington.
– Starting forward Udonis Haslem missed practice because of a bruised groin from Sunday’s 111-103 overtime home loss to the Bobcats, and Heat coach Pat Riley expressed concern over the severity of that injury.
– Backup guard Gary Payton also missed practice with a left calf injury. His status is day-to-day.
So, a season filled with problems – including injuries to O’Neal and Wade, Riley’s 30-game absence to recover from two surgeries and suspensions of Posey and Antoine Walker for violating the team’s body-fat policy – isn’t exactly getting easier for the Heat.
“It has not been the picture-perfect season. It’s been the total opposite of that,” Wade said. “But we understand at the end of the day we have to come together no matter who is playing and who is not playing and do our job.”
Posey left jail Monday after posting $1,000 bond. His was the second DUI arrest involving a Heat player in Miami Beach this season; rookie Robert Hite was charged in January, but that was later dropped when tests showed Hite’s blood alcohol level was well within legal limits.
The Heat decided Hite should take some time away from the team and ultimately released him to sign Eddie Jones. Riley said Monday he wouldn’t make any quick decisions with Posey, a key member of Miami’s rotation.
“Until we get the facts, absolute, total facts, we don’t want to make the same mistake we made with Robert,” Riley said. “I was wrong. So until we get the facts, we really don’t have anything to say. … It’s typical of wrong-place, wrong-time or whatever. It’s unfortunate. But we have to wait until we get the facts.”
After Hite’s arrest, he never returned to the Heat. He’s now playing in South Dakota for an NBA Development League team.
“I should have waited a little longer before I sent him home,” Riley said. “I’m not going to do the same thing with James. We’ll find out the facts, the facts, the facts, the facts, and I’ll make a decision based on the facts, real facts, and the league will make a decision based on real facts.”
Posey – who will be a free agent after the season and is earning $6.4 million this year – was arrested after police said he was pulled over for stopping in the middle of a double-lane road.
According to police, Posey was talking to occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians. Posey displayed “bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” the police report said.
“We’re all old enough to know the rules and to know the laws,” said O’Neal, a reserve police officer in Miami Beach. “I don’t drink personally, so I don’t have to worry about that problem. The only thing I drink is water.”
The timing of Posey’s arrest, the death of O’Neal’s grandfather and the Haslem and Payton injuries couldn’t come at a worse time.
The Heat are in fourth in the Eastern Conference, yet aren’t in position for home-court advantage in the opening playoff round. To earn home-court advantage, Miami probably needs to make up two games on Toronto over the next week; both teams have five games left.
“One thing good about this team, and I’ve probably said it numerous times, we’ve got a lot of guys that can play the game,” Jones said. “We’re so deep that guys can step in and be sufficient, help this team out and help this team win.”
As playoffs loom, Heat enduring some troubles
