The Miami Heat will be without its starting center Hassan Whiteside and team icon Dwyane Wade tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Tom D'Angelo of The Palm Beach Post.
Whiteside suffered a strained his left hip flexor during Saturday morning’s shootaround and sat out during the team's win over the Washington Wizards.
Wade will sit due to a mild hamstring strain during the fourth quarter of the Heat's recent 129-102 win, telling reporters outright.
“I won’t be in the lineup against Portland, I can probably guarantee that,” Wade said Saturday. “I have time to get treatment and try to take it day-to-day and see when I get back. Hopefully I’m not out too long. I don’t know how long. I have no timetable right now.
“All you can do is do your treatment and do your strengthening and whenever you feel like it’s ready to go, just get on the floor.”
At 35 years of age, Wade is being utterly cautious with injuries and listening to his body as his team tries to navigate these last few games and pushes for the best position in the East's playoff picture.
Whiteside has been riddled with injuries this season ever since posting a monster 26-point, 22-rebound double-double in his season debut, with the hip flexor being the most recent of them all.
“With strains it’s pretty tricky,” Whiteside said. “They can last a couple of days, they can go away. I definitely don’t want to go out there and make it worse and then it’s something that’s lingering for a month.”
Both players will be sorely missed against the team with the longest active streak in the league at nine in a row — packed with a couple of meaty wins against the Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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