Why Miami Heat Will Cruise into Conference Finals Despite Chris Bosh's Injury

The Miami Heat got a bit of bad news on Monday when they found out that All-Star forward Chris Bosh would be out indefinitely with an abdominal strain. But it's not the end of the road on their quest for a championship.

On paper, that's terrible news for the Heat, who will be without the 18.0 points and 7.9 rebounds that Bosh averaged per game. But even without the services of the seven time All-Star, the Heat should be able to make their way into the conference finals rather easily.

That is, as long as they rebound the ball in Bosh's absence.

With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade playing at a very high level, the Heat should still be able to get past the Indiana Pacers as long as they crash the glass.

That's no easy chore considering the Pacers' advantage on the glass—even with Bosh in the lineup. But behind a huge effort on the boards from James, Miami out-rebounded Indiana 45-38 in a Game 1 victory.

LeBron has been playing with a chip on his shoulder, and as long as the Heat remain committed to playing at the defensive end of the floor, they have enough offense to get by.

However, rebounding will determine exactly how long their playoff run will last. If they get by Indiana and run into the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami should still be able to get by if Bosh is still sidelined. Even with Bosh, the Heat finished only 21st in the NBA in rebounding (41.6 RPG), but the Celtics were the worst team in the NBA at crashing the glass (38.8 RPG) during the regular season. So Miami should be able to compete just fine.

That's a big if, though, as it will take a team effort crashing the boards.

LeBron grabbing double-digit rebounds per game now is almost a must, as are increased efforts from the likes of Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem and Ronny Turiaf.

The road to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat now comes down to hopping on the backs of LeBron and Wade, with everyone else doing all the little things necessary in winning a championship.

There's a lot of basketball left to be played for the Heat. How much is left could depend simply on how well they rebound the basketball.