After some question as to whether Dwyane Wade would be good to go with his knee hurting. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that coach Erik Spoelstra says Wade is “fine” and will play versus the Lakers Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers will likely look to go at Wade on the offensive end, as Bryant should be able to get space if he’s not 100%. Meanwhile, the Heat’s rotations will be affected by him not being 100%. Mike Miller is going to have to play well above his averages, even still being new to coming back after his injury in order to compensate.
On offense for the Heat, expect more of LeBron James coming off the pick and roll and driving into the teeth of the Lakers, not getting the foul, missing the shot, and the Lakers rebounding. Without Wade, there’s a huge gap in their offense, and the Lakers have some of the best rotation defense in the league, along with monstrous size. The transition game suffers with Wade not 100%, the halfcourt defense suffers, it’a big loss.
Yet another reason a Heat win doesn’t look promising as gametime nears.