"At the conclusion of Monday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami Heat officials still weren't certain what would become of Rafer Alston, the dethroned starting point guard who is now indefinitely suspended because he did not show up at Friday's practice or Saturday's 100-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Regardless, Heat players were moving forward.

"It's very important to have the locker room in good order," guard Dwyane Wade said. "Even when we were losing, it wasn't in bad order. But as we've worked our way our of our slump, you can see guys coming together even more, so we just want to keep that up."

To that end, the Heat went about its business Monday as a team riding a three-game winning streak and controlling its destiny in a playoff chase. Players seemed focused on Tuesday's pivotal road game at the Charlotte Bobcats, a team that is also in hot contention for a playoff spot, and a team that embarrassed the Heat 104-65 when they last played on Jan. 20, at Charlotte.

"It was a bad game, a terrible game," Wade said.

If Alston doesn't return, the Heat could have need for a third point guard to backup starter Carlos Arroyo and reserve Mario Chalmers. But, coach Erik Spoelstra said, it would have to be right person."