National Basketball Association

Wade sidelined with dislocated index finger

Published Apr. 22, 2012 4:30 a.m. ET

foxsports

Dwyane Wade dislocated his left index finger in the opening minutes of the Miami Heat's game Saturday against Washington, but he said he'll be ready for the start of the playoffs next weekend.

X-rays were negative. Wade's swollen finger was in a splint after Miami's 86-84 loss.

''Obviously it will be sore for a couple of day, but I'll be ready to go when the playoffs start, for sure,'' Wade said.

Coach Erik Spoelstra didn't rule out the possibility of Wade playing Sunday against Houston, although that's unlikely.

''We'll see,'' Spoelstra said. ''We'll have to evaluate it each day and see how he responds.''

With three regular-season games remaining, the Heat are virtually certain to finish second to Chicago in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls beat Dallas on Saturday, and Miami trails them by two games in the loss column.

''Second place is not a bad place to be,'' Wade said. ''We'll go into the playoffs and take it game by game and series by series, and see how we do.''