MIAMI – Another game and another night that Dwyane Wade will not play.
Make it seven in a row and counting for the Heat star. His hamstring is getting stronger and is healing, but the training staff and Wade are in no mood to rush him back.
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That's a good idea.
I know many Heat fans are worried about his health or maybe even frustrated that he's not back on the court already.
But my question is, why the rush?
Miami is 8-6 through 14 games. They're right in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, even with Wade missing the last six games. The big picture is all that matters.
The big picture right now is that the East is an awful conference. Outside of the Wizards and Raptors, no team is playing particularly well. The Cavs are a mess, the Bulls have injury issues and the Hawks have been up and down. Those are pretty much the teams Miami will have to contend with this season.
Unlike the last four seasons, Miami is not good enough to have any kind of injuries and have a shot against those teams. They need all hands on deck.
Wade's issue is not considered something that will linger, so there's really no need to rush it and possibly make it a much more serious issue. We know that can be the case with hamstring injuries.
Plus, after the Warriors game on Tuesday night, Miami doesn't play again until Sunday when they visit New York. I would guess, barring a setback, that Wade returns for that game.
The bottom line is this; Miami needs a healthy Wade to make any kind of noise this season in the playoffs.
For now, the conference is so bad that they can hang around until Wade gets in rhythm, and they also now have to wait on Chris Anderson to miss some time with an ankle injury.
Such is the life of a team that isn't deep enough to have too many injuries. When it comes to Wade, patience is the key.
It's a good thing this team is the East. Miami has the room to be patient and still be in the mix when the playoffs roll around.
More than anything, that's all that should matter for Heat fans.