Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade left Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a hip injury late in the third quarter. [xyz-ihs snippet=”HN-300×250-Image”] The injury took place when Wade drove the basket and was knocked off balance. He landed awkwardly on his hip and stayed down for quite some time before walking off the court under his own power. He left the court shortly after and headed to the Heat locker room. While the Heat were up by a whopping 20 points at halftime, the Bucks have taken the lead early in the fourth quarter. If Wade is unable to return, it will up to the rest of the Heat roster to reclaim the lead and get a much-needed win versus the Eastern Conference’s top club. [xyz-ihs snippet=”HN-300×250-TextnImage”]<doc-sep>​Please don't let this be serious, D-Wade! In what has been a ​memorable victory lap for Dwyane Wade, no one wants to see No. 3 go down with an injury. On Friday night, though, Wade landed awkwardly on his hip and was down on the court for a while. He was able to walk off on his own, but in a ton of pain. Dwyane Wade went to the locker room after appearing to land awkwardly on hip pic.twitter.com/xEXCNvRGT2 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2019 ​​Even writing this story hurts. Wade has been one of the ​best basketball players over the past 10 years and fans across the globe love him. We don't want him injured in his final year of ball. Hopefully this isn't serious and he won't miss much action.<doc-sep>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Tyler Wade felt some soreness in his hips Tuesday night when he woke up from napping during the Yankees’ four-hour bus ride Tampa to West Palm Beach. He wasn’t concerned. The next morning, the super utility infielder/outfielder felt it again lying in his hotel room bed. He wasn’t concerned. Get tickets to see the 2019 Yankees: StubHub, SeatGeek, PrimeSport, Ticketmaster When it happened again Wednesday afternoon while he was playing center field for the Yankees in a Grapefruit League game, Wade figured he better speak up to manager Aaron Boone. Wade still isn’t concerned, but he was pulled 4 ½ innings into the Yankees’ 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros and then sent back to Tampa to see a doctor instead playing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday in Jupiter in the finale of a two-game Florida East Coast trip. “Opening Day is (a week) away,” Wade said after going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. “A lot of guys are hurt right now, so I didn’t want to keep pushing it, keep pushing it, keep pushing it. It’s just my hips are tight.” The Yankees are banged up to the point they’ll have six players beginning the season on the injured list, including starting center fielder Aaron Hicks. Wade is convinced there’s no chance he’ll join the list. “No, no, no, no, no!” he said. “Not at all. I just want to jump out in front of it and stretch it out make sure it’s good for (the season opener next) Thursday.” Hicks’ back injury probably will lead to the Yankees beginning the season with Wade, a natural infielder, as the squad’s only backup outfielder ... assuming his hip issue is no big deal. Wade has been playing some outfield since picking it up in the 2016 Arizona Fall League and feels comfortable at all three spots, but Hicks is expected back by week two. At the point, Wade is a good bet to stick with the Yankees optioning one of their first basemen – Luke Voit or Greg Bird – to free up a spot for Wade. Wade, however, might need to hit a little to keep his spot. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter is having a good spring for the third year in a row – he’s batting .318 in 17 Grapefruit League games – but his average over 124 career big-league at-bats in two seasons is just .161. “Continue to progress as a hitter … that’s the next thing,” Boone said. “That’s ultimately what is going to allow him to stay in the big leagues, to make the adjustment to hold his own offensively. The defensive skillset I believe will absolutely work. Obviously the speed and the way he runs the bases is a big deal. So if he can hold his own offensively, he’s a big leaguer.” Wade has looked the part this spring, as he’s been driving the ball more to the opposite field. He’s also hit a no-doubt homer to right. What’s been the secret? “Ah, it’s going to sound kind of ironic, but I’ve able to use my hips a little bit more,” Wade said with a laugh. “It’s more using my lower half and being aware of my body and using it correctly rather than muscling it up. Fluid and loose.” HIs approach has worked to the point that Wade seemingly was winning an Opening Day roster spot even before Hicks’ injury, and even though the Yankees signed two free agent infielders in the offseason with good to great resumes, Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu. Wade says he never got bummed out. He dealt with the same thing in February 2018 when the Yankees signed second baseman Neil Walker early into spring training. “I kind of take it the same way,” Wade said. “These guys are coming into our team and helping us win a championship. So whatever I can do help that.” Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook<doc-sep>“You try to strike that balance between the need in the short term, especially a player of his potential and talent, you want to consider the long-term game as well. Those will be things that we consider, things that we talk through,” Boone said of Frazier. “What I’ve seen of him lately, a couple of well-hit balls yesterday, he’s working really hard on both sides of the ball. His defensive work, he continues to work real hard at. And he’s healthy and has been able to get a lot of reps. That’s a good thing too.<doc-sep>
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — With Jacoby Ellsbury likely starting the season on the injured list and Aaron Boone not inclined to keep both Luke Voit and Greg Bird, there is a reserve roster spot open that Clint Frazier and Tyler Wade both have a chance to win. Frazier provides a fifth outfielder, and Wade can play three infield spots and left field. “Certainly, they are all scenarios that I can see, but you are also sitting here in February,” Boone said Sunday before the Yankees’ 8-5 win over the Rays at Charlotte Sports Park. “So much has yet to unfold. Hopefully we are able to stay healthy and we are making those kind of decisions coming down to the wire.” Wade helped his case by going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Frazier went hitless in four at-bats and struck out twice. Frazier was limited to 15 games last season due to concussion issues, so the Yankees might believe it would be better for his development if he opened the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He also hits from the right side, and the Yankees are top-heavy there. Wade, a left-handed hitter, made the Opening Day roster a year ago, when he hit .167 in 36 games four big-league stints. Boone didn’t say Wade hitting left-handed gave him an edge but did admit — without Didi Gregorius until at least June and possibly later as he recovers from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow — the lineup “isn’t perfect and not the most ideal thing.” But Boone believes if the lineup avoids injury, it will be very strong.