Dwyane Wade questionable vs. Pacers

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade remains questionable for the Miami Heat's game Monday night against the Indiana Pacers because of a sprained left wrist.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday that the swelling in Wade's wrist has gone down, and that he will be re-evaluated before Miami faces the Pacers at American Airlines Arena. If Wade misses his second consecutive game, the Heat would be without their two captains and two of their most productive players.

Forward Udonis Haslem, who tore ligaments in his left foot during Saturday's loss at Memphis, is out indefinitely. Haslem met with doctors again Monday, and the Heat were considering options that could include surgery, which would keep the team's leading rebounder out for months.

One source close to the situation told ESPN.com on Sunday night that there are fears Haslem will be sidelined until at least the All-Star break depending on whether he needs surgery.

Wade sustained his wrist injury during Friday's victory against Charlotte when he tried to brace his fall on a layup attempt after colliding with Bobcats guard Sherron Collins. Wade leads the Heat in scoring, and Haslem is Miami's leading rebounder.

The Heat (8-5) are trying to overcome injuries and inconsistent play during an unexpected turbulent start to the season. Miami is also without sharpshooter Mike Miller, who is recovering from preseason thumb surgery and hopes to return by late December.

"We feel we have enough," Spoelstra said after Monday's shootaround. "I just know we have to stick to our process. We have five losses right now, and I know we have specific things we can point to."

Spoelstra said he met with team president Pat Riley the past two days to discuss whether the team needed to pursue free-agent help or look deeper into its own roster.

Veteran Juwan Howard would likely replace Haslem in the rotation, with LeBron James andJames Jones also expected to see more time at power forward. Spoelstra also would not rule out taking a look at rookie Dexter Pittman to help fill the rebounding void. Jerry Stackhouse is likely to start at shooting guard if Wade is unable to play.

Heat vs. Boston Preview

MIAMI (AP) -- Before leaving for the airport Monday and catching the flight to Boston, Dwyane Wade had a conversation with the friend he calls Larry.

As in, the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The one they give out for winning an NBA championship.

"I asked him where he's been," Wade said. "He's eluded me. He's been missing for a while."

Larry will be waiting for someone in June, and on Tuesday night the Miami Heat will take what they hope is their first steps toward winning him when a season of title expectations finally opens in Boston. Miami squares off against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Celtics in a matchup loaded with story lines.

LeBron James' opener with Miami after seven seasons in Cleveland. Wade's first time with James and Chris Bosh as his Heat running mates. Shaquille O'Neal -- once a teammate to both Wade and James -- playing his first game in Celtics' colors. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett motivated by a Game 7 loss to the Lakers in last season's finals. Miami's new Big 3 vs. Boston's not-so-new Big 3.

Oh, and the small fact that Wade and James were both ousted from the playoffs by Boston last spring, defeats that helped along their decision to play with one another.

"I think the NBA did an unbelievable job of picking a great first game," Wade said.

O'Neal says he believes it's just another game, noting that the only big games in which he's played in are the ones where "jewelry" -- a ring -- is up for grabs.

Not everyone is of that opinion.

"Once LeBron took his talents to South Beach, I think everyone got excited," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

The Heat practiced one last time in Miami on Monday morning, followed by coach Erik Spoelstra gathering his team in the locker room for a quick meeting.

He didn't have to say much. Spoelstra brought Miami's 2006 championship trophy and reminded everyone of the season's lone goal.

"We're all ready for this because of how long the summer has seemed," Spoelstra said. "Seemed like it's taken forever to get to this point. But it's finally here. And finally we can have most of the talk about the game and not all these other things which people are interested in right now, which is normal. But let's play."

James feels the same way.

By the time tip-off rolls around Tuesday night, 110 days will have passed since he made "The Decision" to leave Cleveland and join Wade and Bosh in Miami, and the NBA's two-time reigning MVP acknowledged Monday that South Florida still doesn't totally feel like home.

The team does, though. And after a summer of being a lightning rod for critics, James might be more eager than ever to play.

"I'll be ready tomorrow," James said when asked about his motivation level. "I'll be ready. I'll be ready."

His summer -- and the fallout -- was the theme for a Nike commercial released Monday, in which James is sitting on the set of the show in which he announced his decision and asked "What should I do?" He drives by the spot in Cleveland where the famous "We are all Witnesses" banner comes down, talks with Don Johnson while in Miami Vice-styled suits, even munches on a doughnut while taking a shot at Charles Barkley -- one of the most outspoken who railed against James' decision, calling him "a punk."

"Should I be who you want me to be?" James asks to end the 90-second spot.

The Celtics know what the Heat did this summer is why this game was scheduled to open the NBA season. Commissioner David Stern won't be there; he'll be in Los Angeles handing the Lakers their championship rings three hours later.

Odds are, Stern will be watching. Like just about everyone else in the NBA world.

"All eyes will be on the game in Boston, but I think all eyes will really be on Miami," Rivers said. "We're the other team that's playing and we're just going to show up. But I'm sure everybody is there to see Miami."

Boston was a couple of plays away from winning their second championship in three years last June, ultimately losing Game 7 to the Lakers 83-79 -- blowing a 13-point third-quarter lead in the process, and losing the seventh game of a finals for the first time in franchise history.

That title-winning window for Garnett, Pierce and Allen won't be open forever. That being said, they're still the East kings.

"There's never been an opening game that has been more heavily anticipated," Allen said. "I do believe that people are definitely excited to see them more than they're excited about seeing us. Truly they know, as a team, what we represented. The two teams are Eastern Conference powerhouses. It's going to be a game."

Neither team will be playoff-sharp, more than likely. James and Pierce both pointed out on Monday that it's the first game of a new season -- and in Miami's case, a new era. That being said, Pierce pointed out that he's at least curious to see what Wade, James and Bosh will all look like in Heat colors together.

"Nobody has seen that type of talent on one team," Pierce said.

And there might a little bit of a "Hey, what about us?" factor going on Boston, after the Celtics won the 2008 title and nearly got another one four months ago.

"As far as the East, we're the champs," point guard Rajon Rondo said. "But that's in the past. New season. We're not going to go down without a fight."

Tuesday is just Round 1, but it has the ingredients to be a tantalizing open stanza.

"I think it'll be a very hostile environment," James said. "And us being the most hated team in the world right now, I think it'll be even more hostile."

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AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen and AP freelance writer Mike Petraglia contributed from Waltham, Mass contributed to this report.

Bosh & Wade ....Kings Of South Beach??

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are teaming up together on the Miami Heat, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

ESPN's Shelley Smith also reported the pending move through independent sources.

Whether LeBron James, the kingpin of this summer's celebrated free agent class, will join them remains to be seen. James will announce his decision Thursday night at 9 ET during a one-hour special on ESPN.

Wade and Bosh are expected to announce their decision on Wednesday, according to the source, and continue to lobby James, along with Heat president Pat Riley, to join them in Miami, despite the financial complexities involved for the Heat to make room for all three.

Both players are expected to get the maximum amount allowable under the league's collective bargaining agreement, though the addition of James could change the players' salaries. Contracts cannot be officially signed until July 8.

It was not immediately clear whether Bosh will sign with Miami outright or join the Heat through a sign-and-trade deal. Bosh could earn $125 million over six years via sign-and-trade, but only $96 million over five without it.

"Either way, he's definitely going to Miami," the source said.

James or not, the Heat could emerge as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with Wade and Bosh aboard. Wade, who led the Heat to the NBA title in 2006, is re-signing with the club, while Bosh will leave the Raptors after seven years in Toronto.

Wade, Bosh and James have maintained a dialogue throughout the free agent process and in the days leading up to July 1, keeping alive the possibility that all three could wind up playing together for the Heat while also sifting through the various options on the table.

ESPN.com reported June 28 that the trio held a scaled-down version of the free agent summit originally suggested by Wade to seriously discuss their futures, with a focus on the idea that all three could team up with the Heat. Sources close to the situation insist, though, that James has not promised anything to his Team USA colleagues and is not tipping off which way he's leaning.

For much of Monday and Tuesday, several team executives and league insiders expressed their belief to ESPN.com that James re-signing with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and Wade and Bosh landing together in Miami was the most likely outcome of a saga that began three years ago when James, Wade and Bosh all signed contracts that enabled them to become free agents in the summer of 2010.

But the New York Knicks, after securing a verbal commitment from free agent power forward Amare Stoudemire, have not surrendered in the chase for James, despite a growing sense around the league that the opportunity to play with Wade and Bosh is the only scenario that prevent the Cavs from keeping their face of the franchise.

Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo, in a text message to The Associated Press on Wednesday morning, said "I have nothing official from anyone."

One source with knowledge of Toronto's thinking told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Raptors, as of 9 a.m. ET, had yet to hear anything official from Bosh's camp about his intentions.

Toronto's growing frustration with the lack of communication with Bosh in recent days and reluctance to participate in a sign-and-trade with Miami has been well-chronicled. But the source said that the outcome -- whether a sign-and-trade can still be salvaged or whether Bosh will indeed sign with Miami as an outright free agent -- was "unknown" at this point.

ESPN.com's J.A. Adande reported earlier this week that the Raptors have become "increasingly disenchanted" with the idea of helping Bosh obtain a maximum contract via a sign-and-trade deal.

Chris Broussard is an NBA writer for ESPN The Magazine. ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.