Ailing from a strained right shoulder that has been slow to heal, Heat shooting guard Daequan Cook apparently has been downgraded from day-to-day to out indefinitely.

Cook missed his second consecutive game Tuesday against Phoenix and likely won't travel for Wednesday's game at Washington. Therapy and treatment have done little to ease the pain, and Cook fears the injury could grow worse.

Cook has had problems with both shoulders over the past two seasons. He sprained his right shoulder twice -- both times in the offseason. Cook sprained his left shoulder in April and missed one game.

``I'm very worried because this is something that's never really happened to me until now,'' Cook said in the Heat's locker room before Tuesday's game. ``It picks and chooses when it wants to flare up. Until I'm 100 percent [and] ready to go, I'm just going to keep going day-to-day -- getting treatment I need.''

Cook initially sustained the injury as he handled a medicine ball during a weight-room workout last Thursday. He played in Friday's game against Indiana, but missed eight of his nine shots from the field in 17 minutes.

The Heat's training staff has monitored Cook during shooting drills in recent days. But he continues to struggle to consistently extend his right arm above his head.

``They can tell when my shot, from the ones I take, whether or not I'm ready,'' Cook said. ``I've been looking forward to coming out and being a factor this season, and it's slowing me down right now. I need to get through this as soon as possible.''

HASLEM'S ROUTINE

It has taken a couple of games, but Heat forward Udonis Haslem said he has settled into a consistent routine in his new reserve role.

Haslem admitted Tuesday that he struggled to adjust from a conditioning standpoint to playing extended minutes off the bench instead of opening as the starter.

``I usually come in when it's around six or seven [minutes left],'' Haslem said of entering midway through the first quarter and playing well into the second without a break. ``The hardest part of it is playing 15 minutes straight without coming out. It took a little adjustment physically.''

O'NEAL'S CLEARANCE

Heat center Jermaine O'Neal had three meetings with the team's medical staff before he was cleared to play with a broken nose Tuesday.

O'Neal, who broke his nose late in Sunday's win against Chicago, followed through on his vow to bypass the option of wearing a mask.

``If you wear a mask in a game, you're probably going to get hit,'' O'Neal said.

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