(Sports Network) - Expect Chris Bosh back on the floor Tuesday when the Miami Heat try to hold serve against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

It's got to be all hands on deck for the struggling Heat, who trailed during 95 of the 101 minutes of basketball played in Boson over the weekend as the Celtics evened the series at two apiece.

Bosh, who averaged 18 points and 7.9 rebounds in the regular season and had been scoring 14.7 points and pulling down 6.8 rebounds in the postseason before straining a lower abdominal muscle in the opener of the East semifinals against Indiana, will likely be dusted off for Game 5 after being upgraded to "day-to-day" by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra on Monday, more than three weeks since the injury occurred.

"He'll get a vote," Spoelstra said when talking about Bosh's likelihood of suiting up. "Everything is heightened right now. These are extreme circumstances. Everybody will be involved in the decision, if and when it happens. But you always have to take the player's opinion with a grain of salt."

Obviously Miami has sorely missed Bosh, a key to the team's pick-and-roll game on offense as well as an underrated defensive player who can create problems for Celtics star Kevin Garnett thanks to his length.

From the moment word started to leak out that Bosh could play in Game 5, the Heat have been trying to downplay it and will list the big man as a game-time decision until he actually hits the floor.

"That will be a game-time decision," Spoelstra said at the team's shootaround early on Tuesday. "He was able to go through a workout yesterday and a shootaround today. We have to continue to evaluate."

That kind of gamesmanship isn't going to work on Doc Rivers, however. The Celtics' mentor has been anticipating Bosh's return for days.

"We don't have to do anything different," Rivers remarked. "We've prepared every game like Bosh is going to play. And eventually, he will. Chris is obviously very talented and poses his own problems, but I don't think Kevin is that concerned with whoever's there."

Rust figures to be a problem for Bosh but his presence alone changes the complexion of the series even if he's not 100 percent. The Dallas native is far more skilled than any of the other Heat big men and must be accounted for at all times.

"Our offense has changed considerably with him out," Spoelstra said. "He's been an anchor. Everybody knows that's been around our team is he's been a major component."

That's an understatement. Since Bosh arrived in South Beach, the Heat have gone 116-45 (a .720 winning percentage) with him in the lineup and just 12-11 (5-4 in these playoffs) when he's sidelined.

"We definitely to have to be aware," Celtics forward Paul Pierce said when talking about Bosh. "He's another big scoring threat for them, a guy who can really put up some big numbers on any given night. He stretches the floor with his shooting and he can drive the ball. It's definitely somebody we got to be aware of."

Hindsight says the high-profile Heat suffered from a serious case of hubris after winning the first two games of this set in South Florida.

What looked like a walk in the park for Miami has turned into a dogfight after three short days in Boston thanks in large part to the fact that the Heat thought they could get one in Beantown while continuing to rest Bosh with an eye on the NBA Finals.

By all accounts Bosh has been telling the Heat that he's ready to play but the team arrogantly dismissed the notion and underestimated a proud bunch of Celtics, a resilient group with a championship pedigree.

Actions have consequences and Miami now finds itself playing in a miniseries against perhaps the NBA's craftiest team with a point guard who happens to be playing out of his mind.

The snowball is rolling down the hill aimed directly at the Heat and quickly picking up steam. It's up to Bosh to step in front of it and take the biggest charge of his life.

The Sports Network