The Miami Heat says keeping star guard Dwyane Wade out of the lineup Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers because of a sore knee is not a concern.
Except that it is.
Wade played 36 minutes, scoring 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting, during the Heat's 107-95 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, but the Heat kept him out of the second night of back-to-back games.
Philadelphia beat the visiting Heat 114-110 on Wednesday night.
Knee injuries hampered Wade during Miami's playoff run to a second consecutive title last season. According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Wade's knee was sore after the opener, prompting the training staff to make an evaluation of his situation before deciding whether he would play.
"That's really part of the plan," coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wednesday's decision. "It's not necessarily our rule that he won't play back-to-backs. It's just been a long week in terms of our preparations. His knee is a little bit sore, but nothing dramatic of a major concern. We're just going to be proactive with it."
Spoelstra said the team made the decision during the team's midday walk-through at the hotel, the Sun Sentinel reported.
"I felt OK," Wade said before Wednesday's game. "I felt like I did in certain other preseason games that I played. Every once in a while, you get a little sore. But I felt all right. I'd like to feel better."
That is a troubling statement for the Heat, which are trying to record a championship title three-peat. The Heat are insinuating that they'll take a day-to-day approach with the 31-year-old Wade, but if that is the case, why wouldn't the two-time defending champions keep Wade on the bench and bring him back to the lineup later on in the season to ensure he had ample time to recover?
"We'll continue to evaluate not only Dwyane, but the rest of our guys each day," Spoelstra said. "But we do have specific plans for everybody. Every day it might be something different."
If the team decided about Wade's status Wednesday night at the walk-through, the decision doesn't seem to be associated with any specific plan with Wade.
He has missed 46 games combined over the past two seasons.
"It's second game of the season," Wade told the Sun Sentinel. "If Coach felt if they needed me to play, I would be playing. So just being smart.
"The trainers didn't feel that they wanted me to go today. It's the first back-to-back. I hadn't played a back-to-back in preseason. So it's the first one and they didn't want to chance it."
Heat fans might want to get used to the limited chances that will be afforded to Wade this season.
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