Although Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were voted last week as Eastern Conference starters for the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 26, the Heat might have more representatives selected for All-Star weekend.

Chris Bosh is expected to be named an All-Star reserve, and Norris Cole is considered a candidate to play in the new Rising Stars Challenge.

The NBA ditched the old format of the rookie-sophomore matchup in favor of the new contest, in which 18 first-year and second-year players will be divided into two teams. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as the general managers and conduct a draft on Feb. 16 to determine each team. The head coaches will be the lead assistants from the All-Star Game coaching staffs.

Cole is averaging 8.4 points per game, eighth among rookies, and his 2.5 assists per game is sixth among rookies.

While a few days of rest during the All-Star break might be good for Miami’s backup point guard, coach Erik Spoelstra said he wouldn’t mind seeing Cole in Orlando.

“It’s one afternoon he’ll have to play, I don’t think that would be too much,” Spoelstra said. “I think it would be a tremendous experience, and I think he’s earned it.”

Spoelstra also has a chance to participate in the All-Star weekend as well. The coaching staffs are determined by the team with the best record in each conference in games played by Feb. 15.

Spoelstra declined to comment on what the selection would mean to him personally, but he discussed its significance for the team.

“It would mean that we have the best record, and I’ll take that any day of the week,” Spoelstra said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Roster moves

Tuesday was Miami’s last opportunity to extend a trio of nonguaranteed contracts. The Heat waived center Mickell Gladness and retained guard Terrel Harris and Eddy Curry.

Curry’s progress has been well-documented — the former first-round pick has lost 60 pounds and managed to play in his first NBA game in two years — but Spoelstra said it is still too early to judge the 29-year-old center.

“We never looked at Eddy as a short-term project,” Spoelstra said. “He’s made dramatic strides in terms of conditioning but also trying to understand what we do here, which is much different than he’s done in the past.”

Gladness, a rookie who spent one year playing in the Netherlands and two more in the NBA D-League, recorded eight rebounds, two points and two assists in 21 minutes this year. Cutting Gladness presumably opens up space for Miami to sign a veteran big man such as Joel Przybilla

Tough schedule

The Heat begins a six-game road trip Wednesday, during which it will play its only back-to-back-to-back games of the season. Miami takes on Atlanta on Sunday, then travels to play the Bucks on Monday and the Pacers on Tuesday.

For a handful of Heat players, this will be the first time playing on three consecutive nights since competing in the AAU circuit in high school.

“The biggest thing we can do is try to stay healthy and take care of our bodies,” Wade said. “And not have too many letdowns. There are going to be a lot of nights where guys don’t have it, hopefully our depth can make up for some of that.”