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LeBron expected to play against Hawks
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MIAMI — It was a day when the offense ran through Eddie House and Mario Chalmers had the green light to shoot.

This is what happens when the Miami Heat's top three players miss practice. On Monday, forwards Chris Bosh and LeBron James and guard Dwyane Wade were all held out because of minor injuries. Bosh, who is nursing a sprained left ankle, is the only one likely to miss Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks at AmericanAirlines Arena. James (ankle) and Wade (knee) sat out for precautionary reasons but are expected in the lineup.

"It was an entertaining practice, watching those guys, the jumpshooters, shoot in practice," Wade said. "Watching those guys (shoot) it up and have fun doing it. (House) shot every time he touched it. One time he literally shot without turning his body around to the basket."

This is the first time the Heat have dealt with injuries to their three stars at the same time. James was inactive the past two games while Bosh suffered his injury in the third quarter of Saturday's game against the Chicago Bulls. James sounded confident that he would play.

"These last few days, we're getting better, just getting a lot of treatment and staying in the training room and being optimistic," James said. "Hopefully, we're ready to go."

Wade was a surprise addition to the wounded list after experiencing soreness in his left knee and wrist. The pain was a result from falling on the floor hard in the second half against the Bulls. He and Spoelstra said there is no chance of it causing him to miss any games.

"I got hit pretty bad in my knee in the Chicago game, so there's a little swelling," Wade said. "But it's nothing that's going to stop me from playing (Tuesday) so I'll be ready. It's part of the game. It's a physical game. The biggest thing is it's injuries that we can come back from and don't have to be out too long. It's nothing serious."

Bosh appears in danger of being absent from the lineup. Spoelstra listed him as doubtful against the Hawks. Results from an MRI on Sunday were negative, but the Heat are taking a cautious approach because they hope this can be a time to regain health. After a five-game road trip, Miami plays just twice the next nine days.

Spoelstra is unsure of the starting lineup if Bosh is unavailable. The likely replacement is veteran Juwan Howard. The Heat also have Joel Anthony and James can play power forward if needed.

"I'm not sure about Chris because he was pretty sore (Monday)," Spoelstra said. "Thankfully, it's not anything serious. He's sore. He's walking still a little bit gingerly. If you just watch Dwyane and LeBron move around, they're moving around better than Chris is. But we'll see, everybody responds differently to time and treatment."

Bosh, who was injured after colliding with Chicago's Omer Asik, has yet to test the ankle. He said the decision to play would be easier if this were the postseason.

"If it was the playoffs, I could've definitely went out there and played," said Bosh, referring to missing the fourth quarter against the Bulls. "But I just consulted with the training staff and a few of my teammates and the best of interest of myself and the team, we felt like just use the day and get some rest on it."

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