NBA Rumors: Why Dwyane Wade's Injury Should Have Miami Heat Worried

NBA players suffer enough wear and tear in a regular 82-game season.

When the season is condensed and players have to play more games in less time, that can lead to a lot of injuries, as we have already started to see.

For the Miami Heat this is bad news considering they have a star in Dwyane Wade who has had injury problems in the past and now has sustained what appears to be a pretty significant injury.

Tweeted Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday:

Winderman also tweeted that Wade arrived to practice about 30 minutes after everyone else on Monday and had a noticeable limp.

This "dreaded plantar fasciitis" is the same dreaded plantar fasciitis that cost Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans 19 games last season. It may very well be that the only thing that prevents Wade and the Heat from capturing the title this season is Wade's injury combined with the condensed schedule.

With Wade and LeBron James perfectly healthy, I honestly don't think the Heat have anything to worry about. We've already seen how they've played so far this season when healthy.

But if Wade's injury lingers throughout the season, the Heat have a big problem. Wade's style of play will only further aggravate the injury if it isn't close to 100 percent. He continually puts his body on the line for the sake of the team when driving to the basket and that isn't going to change knowing the determined player he's always been.

On top of this, it appears Wade is being looked at as the team's closer this season, and we've already seen him make a game-winner (the in-bounds pass came from James). Perhaps James will get past his late-game woes that doomed the Heat in last year's NBA Finals, but you can't be sure of that. The fact of the matter is Wade is a better closer at this point.

Should the Heat be worried?

Absolutely.