Dwyane Wade is still nursing a sore hamstring, and there are concerns about his health moving forward.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing for the Miami Heat this season is having to believe that veteran shooting guard Dwyane Wade will stay healthy and lead the team once again following LeBron James leaving in the offseason.
Wade has had chronic health issues over the last couple of years, and they are unfortunately already begin to show themselves once again this year already. The latest injury that Wade has to deal with doesn’t have to do with his troublesome knees, but this time around he has aggravated a pesky hamstring injury. He isn’t expected to miss a ton of time, but the hamstring is still sore and he could miss more time depending on the healing process.
Through the first eight games of the season that Wade has played, he has averaged 19.8 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. He has shot 50.8 percent from the floor overall and 45.5 percent from behind the arc. Those numbers have been huge for the Heat, but they have struggled over the last few games and are currently sitting at 5-5 on the season after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
“He is doing a lot more corrective exercises, some strength training with it and treatment. That is all you can do right now. We will take the next step when we can get there.” – Erik Spoelstra
It’s still a learning process for the entire Heat team, as they have to move on from playing alongside of James. Wade has done an excellent job of taking over the vocal leadership role, and Chris Bosh has stepped up early on in the season as well. That being said, the Heat will only be able to go as far as both Wade and Bosh can take them.
Miami still has plenty of talent to make a run at the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. It would be very entertaining to say the least if the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers met up in the playoffs for a seven game series, and one can only imagine that Wade would want to leave everything he has out on the court to get some sort of revenge against his former teammates and current good friend.
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All of that being said, it will depend on how Wade’s health holds up over the rest of the season. Having hamstring issues early on in the year is not a good sign, and anything to do with his legs is a concern for the Heat. They don’t have the comfort of being able to rest him for 20 or more games this season like they could last year with James in town, and the wear and tear of carrying a team once again might be a bit too great for Wade.
He has made it obvious that he can still play at a level when he’s fully healthy and on the court, but the Heat’s only hope is that he can stay out there consistently. At 32 years of age, his body isn’t going to heal any quicker from this point on out. Wade’s current injury issue isn’t a huge concern, but it still worries Heat fans moving forward this season with the team struggling due to Wade being out.
Next: The Greatest Player In Every Franchise's History: Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade