Haywood May Not Be Ready For Game 4
DALLAS (CBSMiami.com) – The Dallas Mavericks were already having a tough time containing the Miami Heat, but now one of their key reserves may be missing for another game.
Backup center Brendan Haywood said he was going to try sprinting up and down the court and changing directions to see if his injured hip had healed enough for him to play in Game 4.
"If I can sprint, I'll play; if I can't sprint, I'm hurting the team," Haywood said. "You can't be in a finals game if you can't sprint and change directions on the court. That's being selfish."
If Haywood can't play, it's going to mean increased minutes for Mavs starting center Tyson Chandler, who played 40 minutes in Game 2. While he is just 29-years-old, playing 40 minutes for a player over 7-feet will drain him if he has to continue playing that many minutes.
Plus, as Chandler admitted, he played tentatively throughout much of Game 3 to avoid getting into foul trouble knowing Haywood couldn't play.
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