The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a tough time keeping their ideal starting lineup on the floor. We’re not sure if Dean Wade is in their preferred playoff starting lineup, but he has been a starter for most of the season. Unfortunately, the Cavs could be without him for a few games as he went down with an injury during pregame workouts.
According to Chris Fedor of cleveland.com, Wade seemed to hurt his ankle while warming up for Cleveland’s game against the Heat.
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We don’t know the extent of the injury at this time, but we won’t see him for Wednesday’s game against the Heat, as the team has officially ruled him out of this game.
Wade has started 36 of the 57 games he’s played this season. He’s averaged 5.8 points on .432/.354/.711 shooting splits with 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
The Cavs have played some of their best basketball with Wade this season. Cleveland has been 3.1 points per 100 possessions better with Wade on the court compared to when he’s off. That’s been most relevant on the defensive end, where they’ve given up 1.8 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson has been using the last portion of the year to experiment with lineups. We’ve seen that some with Wade’s insertion in the starting lineup, and how they’ve tried to use Wade at the five in lineups alongside James Harden. Groups with Wade at center and Harden on the floor have outscored opponents by 18.4 points per 100 possessions (99th percentile) with a 131.6 offensive rating (100th percentile) in just 76 possessions.
Losing Wade for an extended period of time would be detrimental. But it’s frustrating even if it’s just a short-term issue. The
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