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If Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade is cleared to return during the regular season, it seems it would be in the team's best interest to let him do so.
After sustaining an elbow injury on March 15 in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade was initially ruled out for the rest of the regular season.
Having fractured his elbow, the 35-year-old would have to endure a great deal of physical therapy before even thinking about returning to practice, much less once again playing with his team.
However, it now seems that the NBA star is doing better than expected in his recovery, and could very well be cleared for an earlier return.
"He went through part of the contact in practice today and he looked good," head coach Fred Hoiberg said of Wade's progress. "Guys were out there — a good, spirited workout. Dwyane was able to participate in a lot of the contact drills. The big thing for him right now is getting his conditioning and wind and timing back, but it was great to see him out there and part of our scrimmage."
Participating in contact drills is certainly a good sign, one that could be indicative of Wade rejoining his squad as soon as this weekend.
"It would be great to get him back,'' said Hoiberg. "Obviously, you look at [Tuesday's loss to the Knicks] for example. It would have been nice to have a guy to go out there to play-make and be able to put the ball in the basket when we were really struggling in that area, so yeah, when he's ready to go we'll get him back out there. I'm sure we'll have to have a little bit of a restriction on his minutes, but hopefully get him back in a rhythm these last few games.''
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The Bulls only have four games left in their regular season schedule, the next of which is Thursday on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers. And although as of Thursday morning they are continuing to hold onto the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, things could very well change in a blink of an eye.
At 38-40, Chicago is 1½ games out of the sixth spot. However, with the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat holding identical records, the team cannot afford to overlook their last handful of contests.
As of late, the Bulls have seemingly figured things out. Having won the last five out of seven matchups, it could be argued that adding Wade back into the mix could jeopardize their progress.
But Chicago coming off of a Tuesday night loss to the New York Knicks combined with the fact that Rajon Rondo sustained a wrist injury, may actually be the perfect situation for Wade to come back into.
After all, Wade is a well-established veteran, who has dealt with his fair share of injuries, many of which he has bounced right back from. So there should be no reason why he could not do the same now.
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Averaging 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game in 30.2 minutes of play, Wade may not be having his best year ever. However, it is still hard to argue against those numbers being impressive nevertheless.
Never mind what else the three-time champion brings to the table, that cannot be found on a stat sheet.
Both Rondo and Jimmy Butler have done a great job rallying the younger guys recently, but some added leadership on the floor could never hurt.
Nor could some extra ball movement.
Or clutch shooting.
And you better believe his teammates are on board, too.
"We definitely need that guy, as everybody knows," Butler said. "We want him to come back to where he's not protecting anything, he's hooping, he's playing 110 percent and doing what he's been doing."
There is also the fact that if the Bulls do indeed end up making the playoffs, they will want to have Wade re-acclimated to the lineup prior to beginning their postseason run.
Now, no one is saying Wade should force a comeback if he is not ready. But if he is on the brink of return anyways, it seems in Chicago's best interest to have him slowly rejoin the team during regular season play, before hopefully moving forward from there.
Hope to see you soon, Wade.
