Dwyane Wade has been ruled out of Friday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, marking the first game he will miss this season after missing nearly a third of the season last year.
Wade experienced tightness in his hamstring during the Heat’s Wednesday night’s home loss to the Indiana Pacers in which he finished with 20 points in nearly 34 minutes of action.
“Tonight, I’m not playing,” Wade told ESPN. It’s as simple as that. It’s just not smart for me to try and push it.”
In the wake of LeBron James bolting the Heat to return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, Wade is off to one of the best starts of his NBA careers. In the Heat’s 5-3 start, Wade is averaging 19.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and a team-high 6.4 assists.
That stretch has included Wade playing in six games over a span of nine days, including back ends of back-to-back sets on three occasions. All this comes on the heels of Wade missing a full-season high career 28 games last season.
“I’ve had worse,” Wade said of his latest injury. “I’ll be back soon enough.”
Certainly, the Heat hope so, given their upcoming stretch. Miami plays three games in four nights including a back-to-back set against the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks and rookie Jabari Parker.
All Wade’s missed games last season still have some speculating it may have played a factor in James’ decision to leave the Heat despite winning back-to-back titles and advancing to four straight NBA Finals’ appearances.
[Photo Credit: Keith Allison]