Here’s how Dwyane Wade hopes the emotion of his farewell season will help the Heat
Dwyane Wade doesn’t know how he’s going to navigate through the different emotions that will come with his final NBA season. But Wade does know what he doesn’t want his farewell season to become.
The future Hall of Famer doesn’t want it to become a distraction.
“I don’t want to look at it as hanging over,” Wade said in advance of Wednesday’s season opener against the Orlando Magic. “First of all, let’s use some of it. There’s going to be some great fanfare, there’s going to be some great moments. On the road, we’re going to get a little bit extra people with Miami Heat stuff on. Extra cheers. We want to be able to use it all.”
Those extra cheers started in the preseason, as Wade draw applause from opposing fans when he entered the game in each of the Heat’s three road preseason contests.
But on the day of Wade’s final regular-season opener, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is trying to save the nostalgia for later in the year.
“I don’t want to get too sentimental this early,” Spoelstra said with a grin. “I’m just very grateful that we have another season to work together, and I want it to be fun. I want it to be a very memorable season.”
The Heat wants it to be a memorable season for more reasons than just Wade’s farewell tour.
“If I’m honest, we didn’t even talk about that because the only thing that’s important is how we play. It’s winning,” point guard Goran Dragic said when asked if Wade has spoken to the team about what to expect in his final season.
“Everybody is smart enough that we know what’s going to come. It’s D-Wade. He’s one of the best players in the league, in the world. He’s given us 16 years in the league, and this is something special. We know there are going to be a lot of supporters for him and for us. But we have an obligation. We have our job to do, so we need to focus on the game”
Wade agrees.
“I just want guys to go play,” Wade said. “Winning ball games makes this last year that much sweeter. So we just want to get out there and see if we can be a better team than we were last year.”
Starting on the road
The Heat begins the regular season this year with a multigame road trip for the first time since 2010-11, which was the first season of the Big 3 era.
After Wednesday’s road opener against the Magic, the Heat travels to take on the Washington Wizards to complete a season-opening back-to-back set.
“You just have to deal with a lot of different things over the course of an 82-game season. So we’re cool with it,” Spoelstra said of beginning the regular season away from home. “We started off with a six-day training camp and then on a two-game road trip, come home and go back on the road. You have to deal with extreme circumstances. I think we have the kind of group that likes those kind of challenges.”
The Heat’s first home game is Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.
Injury update
Guard Wayne Ellington (left ankle soreness) and forward Justise Winslow (hamstring tightness) are expected to miss Wednesday’s opener against the Magic. They are listed as doubtful on the injury report.
Dion Waiters (left ankle surger) and James Johnson (sports hernia surgery) will not play in Orlando as they continue to recover from their respective surgeries.
This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 1:35 PM.