Every game is now a must-win for Miami if they want to reach the NBA Finals again, in which they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The big key to force a Game 7 is using forward Chris Bosh, who returned from injury Tuesday night in Game 5; however, he only played 14 minutes, but he still had a big impact in those minutes.
Many think the reason Miami lost was due to Bosh not playing enough minutes. They could have definitely used him at the end of the game, but head coach Erik Spoelstra made the decision not to. Without Bosh, Miami lost 94-90.
Had Bosh been in at the end, could there have been a different outcome?
It's hard to tell, but it would have most likely made a difference. But with tonight being a game where the Celtics can eliminate them, Bosh will be seeing more minutes. According to Michael Wallace of ESPN, Bosh will play a larger role in Game 6 Thursday night.
If he is on the bench or starting, he will be seeing a lot more minutes.
"I'm still going through that thought process," Spoelstra said. "But I think he'll be able to handle a bigger load of minutes, and it'll be based more on how he'll feel during the game."
Spoelstra was criticized for not having Bosh in at the end, which led to a website in honor of him to get fired.
"Those are the decisions you have to make," Spoelstra said. "And I know after the fact, those can always be second-guessed. But we're treading in kind of new waters right now, and [Bosh] had been out quite a while. But he'll play more tomorrow night."
Bosh will be needed or it will change a lot to this team if they lose.
In my opinion, I think the Heat can pull it out. They were able to respond to the pressure like against the Indiana Pacers: who had more heart at the time and took a surprising 2-1 series lead. Miami responded and won every game.
These last three games, the Heat have shown that intensity they had like in their last three wins against Indiana and their first two wins in Boston. Now facing elimination, I see them coming out with the killer intensity again as they'll force a Game 7.
Enjoy the game.
Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. He also contributes at Hoops Authority and Eight Points Nine Seconds. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.
