Ray Allen and Chris Andersen questionable for Miami Heat in Game 5 vs. Pacers
The Miami Heat could be without two valuable reserves when they attempt to close out the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday and advance to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season.
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Chris Anderson and Ray Allen have both played through their respective hip and knee injuries this series but their status for the elimination game on Wednesday remains in question, particularly Anderson who sat out Monday’s 102-90 win that gave the Heat a 3-1 series lead.
"“He’s the human bruise, so he has a lot of different things going on all over his body, and he’s been able to play through all of that,” Spoelstra said of Andersen via Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. “He’s a tough guy. We all know that. He plays through pain. But you have to understand the difference between pain and injury.”"
Anderson traveled with the team to Indiana and will be evaluated prior to the game, so he’s more or less a game-time decision, and they could use his presence in the post where he has been instrumental in limiting the Pacers bigs.
Andersen is averaging 6.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while Allen is averaging 10 points and 3.5 rebounds while showing off his lethal range from three-point range as one of the best shooters from beyond the arc is shooting a team-high44.4 percent from three-point range in the series.
With LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh the Heat still may have enough to get past a desperate, but perhaps despondent Pacers team, who will be relying on their fans in the home arena to extend the series.