CHICAGO — Bulls guard Dwyane Wade will have an MRI on his right elbow after injuring it in the second half of Wednesday’s 98-91 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wade tried to play through the injury, but he was taken out of the game with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. He was wearing a sling in the Bulls’ locker room after the game.
“I’ve got to get an MRI tomorrow morning and see what it is,” Wade said. “I just got caught up going up for a rebound with [Grizzlies big man] Zach [Randolph] and one of our big guys, got caught up there in the mix of stuff and heard a couple of pops.”
“I knew it was something a little bit more, just because of what I heard. I tried to play through it a little bit, until the pain started getting more excruciating.”
With the loss, the Bulls are now 32-36, a game behind the Miami Heat for the last playoff spot in the East. Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler said he knows the Bulls would be in serious trouble if Wade has to miss an extended amount of time.
“It’s tough,” Butler said. “We need everybody right now with what we’re trying to have happen [going to the playoffs], especially that guy. If he’s injured, it’s unfortunate. … We want him back as soon as possible.”
Butler suffered a left elbow injury two seasons ago that forced him to miss 11 games. He said he was telling Wade about his elbow issues after Wednesday’s game.
“He asked me how long I was out, and I told him,” Butler said. “He said, ‘Oh, wow.’ It is what it is. Hopefully it’s not what I had. I know it’s pain, I can tell you that much. I know how it feels.”
Wade, who was just 3-for-11 from the field Wednesday, said he knows time is slipping away from his team.
“My concern is, there’s only 14 games left, and I’ve never had this injury before,” he said. “I could miss two days, two weeks, I don’t know. I know Jimmy’s had something similar to this before, and I don’t like what he’s got to say about it. So that’s my concern, is that we’re trying to make the playoffs, we’ve only got 14 games left, and I don’t know how long this will take to get better. It’s my shooting arm, too.”
Wade said this is the first time he has dealt with an elbow injury.
“This is a first,” Wade said. “I’ve always said, as long as I’ve played, I’ve experienced almost everything. Hopefully it’s not as bad as I perceived it to be. So I’ll get in there tomorrow morning, see what the doctors say and start my rehab process.”
Courtesy: ESPN.com
