Miami Heat's Chris Bosh (1) laughs as LeBron James, right, speaks while they wait for the end of Game 6 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Boston. At left is Heat assistant?coach David Fizdale. Miami won 98-79. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Miami Heat's Chris Bosh (1) laughs as LeBron James, right, speaks while they wait for the end of Game 6 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Boston. At left is Heat assistant?coach David Fizdale. Miami won 98-79. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh drives past Boston Celtics center Ryan Hollins (50) during the fourth quarter in Game 6 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh runsup court against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in Game 6 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals, Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
MIAMI (AP) ? Starting, not starting, it's irrelevant to Chris Bosh right now. He's just happy to be playing again.
Bosh said Saturday that he is planning to come off the bench for the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics, the same role he had in the last two games of the series.
Bosh missed nine games with a strained lower abdominal muscle, after getting hurt in the opening game of Miami's second-round series against Indiana. Bosh played 14 minutes in Game 5 against the Celtics, then played 28 in Game 6 ? and Miami outscored Boston by 16 points when he was on the floor in that season-saving victory.
"I think it'll be irrelevant for as long as we're playing," Bosh said Saturday when asked if the start-or-not issue affects him. "It really doesn't matter for me. I just want to be out there and as long as I get to play, it doesn't matter. I think we have a good thing going right now and I'll continue to come off the bench as long as it's good. I'm going to have my time out there with certain lineups and that's not going to change my approach and how I do things."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he would reveal his starters closer to game time Saturday night, though he has raved about what Bosh has been able to do since returning from the abdominal injury.
"He helped us win (Game 6)," Spoelstra said. "It's an extreme situation, bringing somebody back in the middle of a very competitive conference finals. He's very even-keeled in the mind. So if anybody can handle it, he can handle it."
If Spoelstra stays with the same lineup, he'll have Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem alongside the three starting-locks of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers.
Bosh has been slotted at times to come in when Kevin Garnett goes out of the game for Boston. When the Celtics made a small run ? mainly by attacking the basket ? to get Game 6 within 10 points, Bosh checked in to help defend the rim. Boston never got the lead under that 10-point mark, and the Heat wound up eventually winning by 19.
"It's not a normal rotation where you're slotting, 'OK, you're going to play this many minutes, you're going to come out and rest this many minutes,'" Spoelstra said. "It's on the fly."
Bosh has never been part of a series that went seven games. And until this series, he hadn't come off the bench since his rookie season in Toronto.
"I think we're in a situation where I'm not worried about watching my minutes or anything like that," Bosh said. "Just play the game. Whatever the game calls for, for me to play as minutes as possible, I'm going to make sure I do it and be productive when I'm out there.
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