The Miami heat's summer camp is exacting a far greater toll than could have been anticipated from such offseason workouts.The team not only confirmed today that Michael Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in last week's NBA Draft, has a "slight crack" of his sternum, but also revealed that 2007 Heat first-round pick Daequan Cook will be sidelined for two to four weeks with a slight separation of his left shoulder.While Cook will now miss next week's summer league in Orlando, the Heat is hopeful that Beasley nonetheless can compete in the week of games at the Orlando Magic's practice facility.Cook was injured during the second of two practices Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Beasley was injured just over a half hour into the camp's opening session Wednesday morning at AmericanAirlines Arena, when he took an elbow to the chest during drills.The sessions are being guided by new Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who took over from Pat Riley in April. Assistant coach Keith Askins will coach the team during the summer league.Beasley said in a blog post at ESPN.com that the elbow resulted in "a very, very slight fracture of the sternum." The Heat initially termed the injury a contusion, but Friday offered a more complete evaluation.Beasley, who has not been made available by the team for comment, said in his blog post that he could miss the balance of the camp, which concludes Sunday.The Heat, however, said today that Beasley could return to contact drills as early as Saturday. He participated in non-contact work today for the second consecutive day.Of the incident, the forward out of Kansas State posted, "I don't know who's elbow got me and I really didn't feel like I got drilled or anything, it just happened to hit me in a weird spot on my chest and kind of stunned me."Beasley claimed said he initially had "some shortness of breath" and Wednesday spent two hours undergoing exams and x-rays.Beasley said the hope is the fracture will heal in time for Monday's start of summer league in Orlando, when the Heat opens against a similar roster of rookies, free agents and young players from the Chicago Bulls, a roster featuring No. 1 overall selection Derrick Rose, the guard out of the University of Memphis.While the recuperation period for such an injury could be up to eight weeks, the Heat nonetheless expressed optimism that Beasley could be in uniform for the five consecutive days of summer-league games.Beasley said his Thursday return to camp included non-contact work and shooting drills, claiming to again feel 100 percent.He anticipates wearing a protective wrap during summer league.Of the players in the Heat's summer camp, he noted St. Joseph's guard Pat Calathes "can flat out shoot," Xavier forward Josh Duncan "does all the little things," and Indiana center Marco Killingsworth "is a beast inside."For Cook, who struggled at times last season and even was briefly demoted to the NBA Development League, the offseason inactivity could impact his chances for a spot in next season's rotation.He had been expected to start during the games in Orlando. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged on 8.8 point on .381 shooting last season after being taken with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Ohio State.
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