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Dwyane Wade to opt for rehab

The Miami Heat star guard hopes to be back in time for the playoffs.

MIAMI — Heat guard Dwyane Wade announced Monday he’s opting for rehabilitation over surgery to treat his dislocated left shoulder and hopes to return for the playoffs.

“My decision for the next two to three weeks is to rehab with the possibility of coming back, but with no guarantees,” said Wade, who expects to eventually have surgery. “I’ll find out after therapy and rehab how my body responds to things.”

The three-time All-Star was injured Feb. 21 while reaching out to defend Houston forward Shane Battier. Wade had tears in his eyes on the bench because of the pain and left the court in a wheelchair. He spent the night in a Houston area hospital and returned home to South Florida the next day, missing the Heat’s 112-100 loss at Dallas.

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Miami is 4-8 without Wade this season, including a 3-2 record since the shoulder injury. Wade is averaging 28.8 points and 7.9 assists per game. In his three-plus seasons in Miami, the Heat is 19-26 without him.

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Miami (29-29) hosts Atlanta tonight in the second game of a six-game homestand. The Heat enters the game tied for the sixth playoff seed with Indiana (29-29) in the Eastern Conference, although Miami would be the seventh seed because the Pacers have the tie-breaker advantage by virtue of its 96-94 victory on Jan. 24. The teams play again March 23.

Maybe my New Year’s prediction of the Heat missing the playoffs will be wrong. Can’t win them all as they say.

 
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