MIAMI (AP) -- Heat guard Dwyane Wade has two problems: A sore left foot and a jammed game schedule.
And with Miami finishing one run of three games in four nights on Wednesday -- and simultaneously starting another of those grueling stretches -- Wade may be taking a night off to try and heal.
Wade did not participate in Miami's shootaround practice Wednesday morning, and teammates were bracing for the likelihood that he will not play against the Indiana Pacers. The foot injury originally flared up in the first half of Miami's win at Charlotte on Dec. 28, a night where Wade returned to hit the gamewinner with 2.9 seconds left.
"We want to make sure we can treat it and move on from it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We're trying to weigh how he feels, whether if he plays (Wednesday) will that make it more sore" Thursday.
Miami visits Atlanta on Thursday night.
Wade has averaged 17.7 points and 7 assists in the three games since getting hurt, but shot just 4 of 17 in a loss to Atlanta on Monday night, wincing at times because of the tender foot.
"As much as I want to be out there, my team needs me to be Dwyane Wade and not somebody else on the floor," he said.
Wade came in to work Tuesday for extensive treatment, and has been bothered by foot issues in the past. Cutting and quickness are two staples of his game -- "cat moves," Spoelstra called them -- and the concern over the foot has limited him of late in both of those areas.
With a condensed 66-game schedule this season, there simply aren't many off days to heal, so already players around the league have been sitting out some games where in past seasons they might have played.
"You saw the same with Paul Pierce," Heat forward LeBron James said, referring to Boston's captain who missed three games with a sore heel to start the year, including one against Miami. "I bet if it was a playoff series Paul could have started the season. But he took his time and now he's back in the lineup. With D having a foot problem, he has to be cautious about it. We'd rather get him as close to 100 percent healthy now than let it linger."
Wade said one of the toughest issues that this particular injury presents is that he never knows when pain will flare up. Sometimes it happens on cuts, sometimes when he leaps, sometimes when he lands.
"Just got to deal with it," Wade said. "I know my feet are a big part of my game ... and that's one area I never want to hurt. I've got to get it taken care of."
