With Miami facing the lowly Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night, the Heat have decided to rest LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers and Ray Allen.
The team announced Friday that the four key players will sit out the road game in Charlotte. James (hamstring) and Wade (ankle) have missed the past two games and Chalmers (ankle) has been sidelined for the last three. Allen (ankle) will now join the three on the bench.
Allen sprained an ankle in Miami’s loss to New York on Tuesday night.
The Heat’s probable starting lineup against the Hornets is Norris Cole and Mike Miller at guard, Udonis Haslem and Rashard Lewis at forward and Chris Bosh at center.
James and Chalmers participated in practice on Thursday, but Wade and Allen were limited to stretching.
Miami, which has locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, continues to hold the NBA’s best record at 58-16. Charlotte has the worst at 18-57.
The Heat plays at home against Philadelphia on Saturday.