The Miami Heat could be without a handful of key players when they travel to face the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday, but it might not matter in a matchup of the teams with the NBA's best and worst records. Miami already has clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, so the Heat will be cautious with stars LeBron James (hamstring) and Dwyane Wade (ankle), fellow starter Mario Chalmers (ankle) and key reserve Ray Allen (ankle). Coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters all four are likely to sit out Friday.
Charlotte also will be shorthanded with guard Ramon Sessions (knee) and center Brendan Haywood (foot) still on the shelf and forward Byron Mullens (ankle) day-to-day after missing the past four games. The Bobcats got big games from Gerald Henderson, Kemba Walker and Josh McRoberts in an 88-83 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday to snap a three-game skid. The Bobcats have won consecutive games only three times all season and just once since a 6-4 start in November. The Heat have won 11 straight meetings against Charlotte and are trying to sweep the season series for the third consecutive campaign.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), SportSouth (Charlotte), ESPN
ABOUT THE HEAT (58-16): Miami already has the best record in the NBA, and now the Heat have the distinct advantage of allowing their stars some time to recover from the grind of the regular season before heading into what they hope is a long postseason run. "We still have time to work on our game," Spoelstra told reporters. "We want our guys to get rhythm, but they have to deal with these minor injuries right now. We're being very pro-active and very aggressive. We're going to take care of them." Miami has held its own without James, Wade and Chalmers the past two games, beating Western Conference leader San Antonio on the road and giving the red-hot New York Knicks a challenge before falling 102-90.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (18-57): Charlotte has long been relegated to putting together building blocks for next season, and more recently trying to play spoiler to playoff hopefuls like it did in Wednesday's home win over Philadelphia. "They were a team that wants to get to the playoffs," coach Mike Dunlap told reporters. "With the distance between them and Milwaukee, that is now a serious problem for the Sixers. So they wanted the game bad and they couldn't get it. So we're happy about that." The Bobcats might not receive such happy returns against Miami, but Charlotte has won five of its last six at home.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Heat are trying to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 8 and 10. They've lost back-to-back games only three times all season.
2. Henderson and Walker have combined for 42.3 points per game in 14 contests since March 8, the highest total among starting guard tandems in the NBA over that period. Both have scored in double figures in 17 consecutive games.
3. Miami's next win will pull this season's team into a tie for the second-most wins in franchise history. The Heat won 61 games in 1996-97 and 59 in 2004-05.