It appears that Dwyane Wade latest perceived knee injury might be just a scare after all. Despite banging his fragile left knee on the hardwood and sustaining a bone bruise Thursday, the Miami Heat superstar participated in shootaround for his team’s game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night and is hopeful to play.
Though Miami initially targeted tomorrow’s matchup with the Indiana Pacers for Wade’s return to the floor, it looks increasingly likely he’ll participate in tonight’s contest.
Courtesy of the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman:
Dwyane Wade participated in the Miami Heat’s morning schootaround Saturday and is optimistic about returning from his bruised left knee in Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
[…]
“I’m closer than I thought,” he said. “Today was a positive day for me.”
“I moved around today and didn’t feel awful,” he said. “I’m closer than I thought.”
That’s good news for the Heat, who find themselves in the thick of a close race for one of the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They entered Saturday a half game up on the Boston Celtics for eighth-place and just a game behind the seventh-place Brooklyn Nets, with the Pacers and Charlotte Hornets also nipping at their heels.
Though without Chris Bosh and Josh McRobert for the season’s remainder, Miami’s injury fortunes finally seem to be turning around – and just in time. Luol Deng is healthy, Hassan Whiteside is playing through a hand laceration, and Wade’s malady isn’t serious.
Erik Spoelstra’s team has seven games remaining in the regular season, the most important of which are tomorrow’s game versus the Pacers and Tuesday’s contest with the Hornets. Sans Wade, it would be very difficult to imagine the Heat gaining a postseason berth. As long as he’s on the floor and playing like himself, though, Miami seems as good a bet as any of its competitors to emerge from the much and make the playoffs.
The Heat and Pistons tip-off at 7:30 EST.
