Dwyane Wade Injury: Worst Fear Coming to Fruition for Miami Heat

In a compact, shortened season, the worst fear of the Miami Heat is coming to fruition: injuries taking a toll on their stars.

On Wednesday, Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports tweeted:

Dwyane Wade has been battling with his ankle injury for a while now. He's missed four of the Heat's 13 games and the last two games he played in he struggled, going a combined 12-of-31 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The Heat, on the other hand, have lost three of their last four games. Wade played in all three of their losses, but he wasn't 100 percent and that clearly showed in his performance.

This is every team's greatest thorn right now. Players were complaining before the season even started that they didn't have enough time to get into playing shape and there were bound to be injuries. The aging Boston Celtics, including Kevin Garnett, were the most vocal about this.

This is nothing particular to the Heat. This is happening throughout the league. While the Heat are largely considered the favorites to win the championship this season, whoever wins the title may simply come down to who's the healthiest.

That's why you may see some teams forgo gunning for the No. 1 seed and instead make sure their stars are healthy for the playoffs. It does you no good to grab the No. 1 seed if your stars are hobbling by the time the postseason arrives.

For a player like Wade, this is certainly concerning. No doubt, he's one of the biggest warriors in the NBA, but the fact of the matter is he still plays with reckless abandon and that makes him more susceptible to injury.

The Heat are talented enough to win the title this season and playing together for another year will do them well. But none of that will matter if they enter the playoffs and proceed to limp around the court.