Dwyane Wade came off the bench for the first time in 483 games in Miami's 113-101 win over San Antonio on Sunday, and Heat officials admit the All-Star guard will probably miss even more game action during the regular season as he hopes to have his sore knees mostly healthy for the team's playoff push.
Wade played just 23 minutes against the Spurs and has already missed 13 games this season as the Heat try to find a balance in keeping Wade sharp and having him ready when the time comes for the team to battle for its third straight NBA title.
"I just wanted to go out there, like I said, and try to get my rhythm back," Wade told the Florida Sun Sentinel of his return on Sunday. "I was able to do that a little bit. Hopefully, Wednesday [against Oklahoma City], I'm feeling better."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insists it was Wade's idea to come off the bench for just the ninth time in his 11-year career. "He said he wants to work his way into his rhythm, into the flow, get some game conditioning," Spoelstra told The Sentinel. "We decided to do it. I would like to get him back into the mix and get him more minutes."
Against rival San Antonio, Wade scored just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, but clearly his teammates were excited to have him back.
"I said it's great having you back out here," said LeBron James. "We know what type of program he's on. At the same time, it's always better seeing him out on the floor than on the bench. It was great having him out there."
Wade insisted he wasn't bothered with not starting and is only interested in trying to help the team remain in a good flow.
"I don't have an ego like that," Wade told The Sentinel. "My thing is to come in and help my teammates. ... That's all I'm trying to do. I've been off for a while. I didn't want to come in and mess thing up. I'm going to continue to work to make sure I'm at my best when I can be."
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