The Miami Heat have re-tooled this season and are expected to be one of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. So far they are off to a 2-2 start but both losses have come to the top two teams in the East a year ago and both games were closely contested. One of the biggest keys to Miami's success this season is the health of Dwyane Wade and so far he has been healthy and looked really good. Wade is currently dealing with a migraine though and he is worried it might linger causing him to miss some time, according to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.
Wade left Miami's game against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night in the third quarter, as he felt he was starting to get a migraine, and was unable to return. Wade has dealt with migraines throughout his life and he is unsure whether this one will cause him to miss time but he is a little bit concerned. Wade said that each migraine is different and "has a mind of its own" so it is hard to know whether he will miss time and if he does how much time he will have to miss.
Wade was in the middle of a very good game on Tuesday when he was forced to exit as he had 21 points in 27 minutes but he is also off to an incredible start to the season. Through four games the 33 year old superstar has a PER of 26.2 and is averaging 21.5 points and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 47 percent from the field. The Heat next play on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then Friday night against the Indiana Pacers so if the migraine lingers, like Wade fears, it is very likely that he could miss both games.
The Heat have a lot of firepower on their roster so they should be able to handle not having Wade for a few games but it is certainly not an ideal situation for them to not have their best player available. So far this season Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic's scoring numbers are down so if Wade were to miss time they would likely take over as the main scoring options.
In terms of who would replace him in the starting lineup it could be Gerald Green who was inactive on Tuesday with an illness. Wade missing time would also likely mean more time for rookie Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson. The good news for the Heat is that Wade's body is healthy and these migraines are nothing new so it shouldn't affect his ability to be on the court long-term.
