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Heat’s three stars practice together
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
It was indeed a rare occasion when Miami standouts LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all practiced Friday as the Heat prepared for their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Charlotte Bobcats.
James and Bosh returned after sitting out the final week of the regular season to rest nagging ailments in preparation for the opener against the Bobcats on Sunday in Miami.
“Probably the first day of training camp was the last time all of us were out there,” James said after a 2 1/2-hour practice, according to ESPN.com. “We all went through contact and it was great. Guys are just ready for the playoffs.
“It’s fun to have everybody out there competing. We’ve got to carry the load. We’ve got to set the example on and off the floor this postseason. It was great we were all out there.”
Wade returned from a strained left hamstring to play in the final three games of the regular season after sitting out nine consecutive games. He missed 28 games this season because of various injury issues.
The defending NBA champion Heat enter the postseason having lost six of their final eight regular-season games, but they have a 16-game winning streak against the Bobcats.
“I’m ready to go. … I feel not as good as I’ve felt all year, but better than I felt before I took those games off,” James said. “I needed it going into this stretch.”
