Why the Miami Heat Need to Be Concerned about Dwyane Wade's Health

The Miami Heat have a lot to be concerned about with Dwyane Wade's injury. They don't need to go into panic mode, but they do need to be concerned. If, as it appears it might be, it is plantar fasciitis which is bothering him, that could be an injury which sidelines him for some time. 

It's an injury that kept Joakim Noah out for six weeks a couple of years ago. 

It's not an injury that you can play through, you need to rest it to get it better, and in this condensed season, that's a lot of games that Wade would be missing. 

Over six weeks Wade could potentially miss as many as 22 games, or one third of the season. 

That's going to have a compounded effect. While LeBron James and Chris Bosh are talented enough to  keep the Heat in contention for the East's top seed even with Wade missing a substantial amount of games, they're going to have play more minutes to do so. 

That's going to catch up with them in the postseason. Those extra minutes in the already condensed schedule are going to wear down James and Bosh. 

Additionally, this is the type of thing that can flare up again quickly even once it goes away. 

Furthermore, it's going to thin out a rotation that's already shortened. Mike Miller and Eddy Curry are already missing from it and are still a couple of weeks away. Mario Chalmers might be missing some time with a shoulder injury.

Wade's injury means an already thin bench gets even thinner. 

None of these things are enough cause for the panic button. The most important thing for the Heat is to be healthy for the postseason. Yet there is real cause for concern here. The Heat can't get Wade healthy soon enough.