MIAMI — Dwyane Wade is hurting. His team has lost three in a row and the schedule is not going to provide any breaks any time soon.
The season’s first official rough patch has arrived for the Miami Heat.
Some Heat players hit the practice court Sunday, Wade not among them. He was in the building, getting treatment on the right ankle he sprained in Friday’s loss to the Nuggets — one of three lower body injuries he’s dealing with, including a sore left foot and strained calf. There was no formal word on whether Wade will play Tuesday against San Antonio, but it’s seems the Heat is preparing to be without the 2006 NBA Finals MVP.
“He needs to get healthy,” forward Chris Bosh said. “That’s the most important thing. He’s been pushing it. He’s been giving us everything he has. And unfortunately in the last game, he turned his ankle. But sometimes things happen. He probably needed to sit down and rest in the first place. Sometimes an injury will do that to you. It’s a blessing in disguise. We need to be healthy when it’s time to make a run in the playoffs.
“He needs to just chill out right now, get better, and we’ll hold it down until he can come back.”
Wade was not on the practice court for Sunday’s media availability. Coach Erik Spoelstra said there is no timetable for Wade’s return, neither ruling him out for Tuesday nor suggesting he may be out for a while.
“He’s up walking around. He’s working out right now downstairs,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re not going to put a timetable on when he comes back. Thankfully, he’s not in a cast or boot. He is walking around. So we’ll see. We’ll see how he responds each day and we’ll go from there.”
Wade was hurt late in the Denver loss, which capped a five-game road swing for Miami. The Heat was an NBA-best 8-1 after starting the trip with wins in Atlanta and New Jersey, then stumbled in overtime losses at Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers, and closed the trip by allowing the Nuggets to shoot 55 percent from the floor — Miami’s worst showing in that department, by far, this season.
“You just have to get through adversity,” Bosh said. “We knew we were going to be faced with adverse situations. … It’s going to happen.”
Wade, who turns 30 on Tuesday, was able to attend a birthday brunch with family and close friends Saturday, just a few hours after the Heat returned from the all-night flight back from Denver.
