Wade calls injury 'best-case scenario'
Dwyane Wade, for now, is downplaying the dislocated left index finger he sustained in Saturday's loss to the Wizards.
Wade said he was injured when the digit got caught in Jordan Crawford's jersey.
"I was trying to get over a screen. I just felt some pain in my finger and I looked down and the knuckle was up-and-down," he said, with the Miami Heat defeating the visiting Rockets 97-88 Sunday, a game Wade sat out; the Celtics are up next on Tuesday in Boston. "I've never had a dislocated finger before. It is just one of those freaky accidents."
He said he knew it could have been worse.
"I just have to take it day-by-day and see how the swelling is," he said. "I am blessed it's just dislocated, and that it wasn't fractured."
Wade said not to be concerned come the playoffs.
"I'll be sore for a couple of days, and I'll take as much rest as I need, but I'll be ready to go when the playoffs start for sure," he said, with the postseason opening next weekend.
"I'll be prepared and ready for the playoffs."
For a while, he wasn't sure that would be the case.
"Worst-case scenario was surgery," he said, with the finger now in a hard splint. "Best-case scenario was this. I got best-case scenario and I still get to play basketball."
Similarly, Wade said he is not stressing about the Heat having to settle for the No. 2 seed in the East, the same spot they finished last season, when they nonetheless advanced to the NBA Finals.
"We're in second place; that's not a bad place to be in," he said. "We'll go into the playoffs and take it series by series."
As it is, Wade said he welcomes the time off.
"I can't say it's been crazy physically for me, but it's been more challenging," Wade said of the lockout-compacted 66-game schedule. "Physically, it's been tough. I never thought I'd look forward to an 82-game season. I can take these 66 games in an 82-game calendar year. When you get older, you want as much rest time, as much recovery time as possible to get out there."
