At 12-6, the Heat was the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Now, as the injuries have mounted and the schedule has stiffened, Miami is just trying to hang onto one of the eight playoff seeds in the East.

The Heat enters Monday's game in Chicago in a four-way tie -- with Boston, Indiana and Detroit -- for the fifth seed but, due to tiebreakers, Miami is actually in eighth.

That's just 1.5 games ahead of Washington, which has righted itself some after a slow start, and two games ahead of New York. Charlotte and Orlando.

Still, it could be worse. Several teams have been choppy of late, with Toronto and Cleveland the only two teams in the East that are better than 5-5 in their last 10. Miami is 2-8.

Here's how Dwyane Wade sees it:

"There's a lot of season left. You're not too too far out of it. It's still tough. But because the East is so competitive this year, that teams are beating other teams, and you're seeing it. And you're like, 'OK, we still got a fighting chance. 'But you got to right the ship at one point to have that fighting chance. And the thing in this league, you can't necessarily just wait on guys to get back. That's not going to guarantee anything and it might not happen when you think it will. So you got to do enough with what you have, with what gameplan you put together to try to hold the fort down. Right now, it's tough, no doubt about it. But if we get one guy back, that will be better. If we get two guys back. But if we don't, we've got to find a way to hold the fort down."

Miami expects to get at least Beno Udrih back tonight. But it still figures to be without three starters.