The defending NBA champions were dealt a huge blow last night as superstar Dwayne Wade suffered a dislocated shoulder. Replays of the incident are tough to watch, especially watching a wheelchair bound Wade wheeled off the court writhing in pain. It's a frightful reminder that injuries play a much larger role in basketball than most people will acknowledge. On a broader scale, this injury could be a major factor in determining the Eastern Conference playoffs. Wade will be sidelined indefinitely and the Heat are sure to struggle in his absence. They're clinging to the 8th seed, only two games ahead of the Nets. If your a Heat fan, Shaq's 20 points and 16 rebounds have to be an encouraging sign. Head coach Pat Riley also returned to work, but the Nets are involved in trade talks and a change of personnel could energize them.
It will be interesting to see if the injury forces the Heat in to a deadline deal. There is a good chance Wade will miss the remainder of the regular season, possibly even longer. Another thing to keep an eye on is Scottie Pippen. One of the NBA's 50 greatest of all time, Pippen has expressed interest recently in joining a contender. He would not make an immediate impact, but could get his legs back in time for a playoff push.
The deadline is fast approaching and only a few minor deals have been completed. Across the river, New Jersey seems to be the most active shoppers but the Lakers appear unwilling to meet their asking price for star guard Jason Kidd. Although the deadline is at 3 PM EST, things probably won't be clear until this evening.
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Wade will be out for the year. This commentator dislocated his shoulder before, did extensive rehab, and re-dislocated it his first time playing basketball after the initial injury. The bottom line is that you cannot play contact sports after dislocating a shoulder without having surgery. While there are new arthroscoptic techniques that are only minimally invasive to repair the shoulder, there is still an extensive rehabilitation period (a few months at least).
The Heat will have to figure out how to get it done without D-Wade; he's just not coming back this season.
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