Welcome back: Dean Wade set to return for Cavs tonight

The Cleveland Cavaliers got some very welcome news earlier today when it was announced by reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, of ESPN, that the team expects to have their forward Dean Wade back on the court tonight when they face the Milwaukee Bucks in a home game. Wade has been out with a shoulder injury since the first part of December.

He had played in 17 games up to that point in the season and started in nine of them. While the offensive points he scores aren’t that spectacular on a nightly basis, what he brings to the team in other facets of the game like his defense and efforts cannot be understated.

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the Cavaliers looking to bring in through a trade, a shooter or two, to either fill in at the No. 3 in the starting lineup or be able to come off the bench and provide a spark. However, with Wade’s return, his presence alone could be a difference-maker moving forward as the Cavs look to get to the playoffs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could really use Dean Wade back in the lineup

The Wine and Gold suffered a terrible loss on Friday evening to the Golden State Warriors 120-114. The loss was made more embarrassing because the Warriors didn’t play the majority of their starting five. Tonight’s second game in a back-to-back game slate, could be tough for the Cavs after such a humiliating loss the night before, but with Wade returning that could definitely give the team a spark.

In the 17 games that Wade played in the team went 12-5. In the same 17 games, in regard to the plus-minus value, when he was on the court, he was in the positive in the 11 of those games including five games where he was +19 or +20 and in all those games the Cavaliers won. If you look even closer at his statistic lines when he’s been given time on the court, let’s say more than 24 to 25 minutes, the Cavs have been winners. In addition, while the team is averaging only 109.7 points per game and is ranked second in the NBA in giving up the fewest points per game, when Wade was on the floor the team only gave up a bit over 105 points per game. That four-point difference in average is big and could mean the difference when the team wants to get to the postseason.

Sometimes the value of a player cannot be evaluated by how many points he scores or rebounds he pulls down. While Wade provides some points and some rebounds, his scrappiness to get to the loose ball going out of bounds or getting numerous defensive stops on usually the opponents’ best player are more valuable to this team than most realize. Here’s hoping the coaching staff of the Cavaliers will give Wade an opportunity tonight and then increase his minutes on the court to help this team moving forward.

Certainly, Cleveland will still work to bring in a new player or two potentially via a trade before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9, but getting Wade back tonight is a big deal for the Wine and Gold.