More misery for Miami Heat; Dwyane Wade suffers a hip injury – NBA Update
The Miami Heat’s loss in game-5 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks hurt them in more ways than one. The loss means Miami are now one defeat away from elimination but it also came with the added disadvantage of injury
to Dwyane Wade. Wade suffered an injury to his hip in the game.
Dwyane Wade has been the best player in the Finals alongside Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki and if the injury turns out to be serious it could jeopardize Miami’s chances in the coming two games, one if they lose the next one.
Wade got hit on a drive in the first quarter when he drew a blocking foul from Brian Cardinal of the Mavericks. Dwyane fell awkwardly after the bump and immediately grabbed the outside of his left hip. Wade was in obvious pain
and hobbled off to the bench after the incident.
He was then taken to the locker room. Wade missed around 5 minutes of action in the first half due to the injury. At the interval, Wade received further treatment and stayed in the locker room even after the game had restarted.
His coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that he didn’t know at halftime if Dwyane Wade was going to return in the second half or not. Spoelstra said he expected Dwyane not to come back and didn’t even notice at first when
the player came back to the bench.
Wade is a tough player though and he checked into the game again with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter. Wade immediately made an impact and later top scored in the final quarter with 10 points. However it was not enough to save
Miami from defeat.
Dwyane was asked about the injury after the game and if it had impacted on the result but the player refused to make any excuses,
"I don't talk about injuries," Wade said. "It was unfortunate I had to leave the game, but I came back and finished it."
Dwyane Wade is perhaps even more important to the Miami Heat than LeBron James. Wade has won an NBA World Championship before, back in 2006, and he knows what it takes. Wade is the only NBA Finals MVP playing in the current NBA
Finals and he averaged over 30 points a game in Finals appearances before game 5.
The injury could reduce his efficiency on the court and force him to limp through the last two games. Dwyane Wade however has a history of playing through injuries in the post season. In the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals, Wade
suffered a rib injury that forced him to miss a game and return in the game 7 loss despite not being healed properly. He also played through the pain barrier in the 2007 and 2009 playoffs.
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